Desperate and bewildered, migrants stuck at US gates as Title 42 ends

Migrants walk along the banks of the Rio Bravo river after crossing the border to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents before the lifting of Title 42, as seen from Matamoros, Mexico May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

Hundreds of migrants from around the world seeking a better life in the United States have instead found themselves trapped in squalid conditions near the Mexican border, tantalizingly close to their destination, and desperate.

On the eve of the expiration of Title 42, the COVID-era provision blocking most asylum-seekers from seeking legal entry into the United States, hundreds of migrants have camped out at the border between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego.