Biden predicts 'chaos' as migrants amass along US-Mexico border

President Joe Biden has predicted that the US immigration situation will be "chaotic for a while" when Covid-era restrictions expire later this week.

Asked on Tuesday if the United States was ready for a surge in people crossing the Mexican border after the rules, known as Title 42, expire on Thursday night, Biden told reporters, "It remains to be seen. It's going to be chaotic for a while."

Biden said he spoke with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for roughly an hour on Tuesday to discuss the border.

The restrictions have been in place since 2020 and allowed US officials to return migrants over the border quickly.

They are ending later this week and the US is putting into place a set of new policies that will clamp down on illegal crossings while offering migrants a legal path to the United States if they apply online, have a sponsor and pass background checks.

Biden said his administration was working to make the change orderly. “But it remains to be seen," he told reporters. "It's going to be chaotic for a while.”

About 550 US active duty troops have begun arriving along the US-Mexico border in the first group of military support ahead of an expected increase of migrants, US defence officials said.

The movement of troops is part of efforts to beef up security along the southern border amid concerns about a potential increase in migrants trying to enter the US starting Friday, after the restrictions expire.

The forces will mainly be used to help monitor and watch the border, or do data entry and support, and are “not there in any way to be interacting with migrants,” said Brigadier general Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.

More than 900 additional soldiers, Marines and airmen will follow around the end of May.

'Robust process'

US and international law give migrants the right to seek asylum. However, the US has used Title 42 of a public health law to expel migrants with no chance at asylum 2.8 million times since March 2020 on the grounds of preventing the spread of Covid-19.

The Biden administration has said that it is ready to deal with whatever happens after Title 42's use ends, although it has also repeatedly criticised Congress for not making changes to the country's immigration system.

"We believe we have a robust process to deal with what is going to occur after Title 42 lifts. Again, we’re using the tools that are available to us because Congress refuses to do their job as it relates to the border," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday.

Even with the Covid-19 asylum restrictions still in place, the administration has seen record numbers of people crossing the border.

President Biden has responded by cracking down on those who cross illegally and by creating new pathways meant to offer alternatives to a dangerous and often deadly journey.

Some migrants have been spurred by false information from smugglers or widespread rumours about what the Title 42 changes will mean for their chances of being able to remain in the US.