Migrants on what they'll do if turned away from US
STORY: Under Title 42, in place since March 2020 and set to expire at midnight, hundreds of thousands of migrants have been quickly expelled to Mexico.
"I came for my husband, for his work. He has received threats," said Guillermina Vasquez Saldana from Peru.
Kevin Astorga, also from Peru, said it was his second time trying to cross.
"The first was because I live in a very dangerous neighborhood back in Lima," said Astorga. "And I could no longer be there with my family, with the issue of crime, extortion. The assassination was already very, very evident."
Karina Vasquez from Paraguay said if she was returned to her country she would try again: "Yes. A thousand times. I would try a thousand times."
"If they don't take us in, this situation will be more awful for us because we cannot go back and we cannot come in," said Hashmatullah Habibi from Afghanistan. "So, it's like dying situation."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has in recent days been holding up to 28,000 migrants at its facilities, far beyond its stated capacity and in what appeared to be a record, two federal officials requesting anonymity and the Border Patrol's union said.
After the restrictions are lifted, all migrants will be subject to standard immigration processing known as Title 8, through which migrants, who express fear of returning to their home countries, can request asylum. But now - under the new rule - most will not qualify.
