US to limit asylum at Mexico border, open 100 migration hubs as COVID-19 restrictions end

U.S. officials will begin denying asylum on Thursday to migrants who show up at the Mexico border without first seeking protection in a country they passed through. It's part of the Biden administration's effort to crack down on illegal border crossings. At the same time, there are plans to create new legal pathways, including 100 regional migration hubs across the Western Hemisphere. Administration officials say the measures are meant to fundamentally alter how migrants arrive at the U.S. southern border. Coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions known as Title 42 had allowed border officials to quickly return many migrants who crossed. But those restrictions are ending on Thursday.