The United States bolted tough new immigration policies into place Friday, setting up an uncertain future for desperate migrants reaching its southern border as a top official expressed confidence the system will hold.
Thousands of people remained in Mexico hoping to enter the United States, as it remained to be seen how tough new rules for people crossing the border illegally would be enforced.
In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, some 200 migrants were blocked by US troops from accessing Gate 42, the entry point to El Paso, Texas where hundreds crossed on Thursday.
Agustin Sortomi said he, his wife and two children had tried to surrender to US authorities but had been turned away.
“I don’t know what to do,” he told AFP. “We haven’t realized our dream. Only God knows when we will.”
In Brownsville, Texas, migrants who crossed before Friday were being taken to detention centers for processing, with many hoping to register their names and be released into the country.
Meanwhile US officials reported the death of an unaccompanied migrant child in the custody of Health and Human Services, which takes care of children entering the country unaccompanied.
The department gave no details, but Honduras Minister of Foreign Affairs Enrique Reina said a 17-year-old Honduran boy had died in an HHS facility in Florida.
