Updated 4:01 AM EDT, Fri May 12, 2023
The United States this week has been bracing for the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era border restriction that has allowed the government to quickly turn away migrants for the past couple of years.
Officials have been warning that the policy's expiration could attract a surge of migrants and worsen an already challenging humanitarian crisis at the southern border, where communities in recent days have seen makeshift encampments proliferate as border crossings climb.
After the lapse of Title 42 on Thursday, US immigration authorities will return to decades-old protocols. Under that system, migrants are either removed from the country, detained or released into the United States while their cases make their way through immigration court.
The Biden administration has been making various preparations to deal with the anticipated influx. Thousands of reinforcements have been sent to the border, including asylum officers and US troops.
Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.
