DALLAS — When the clock struck 10 p.m. in El Paso Thursday, Title 42 ended.
At one of the checkpoints, no one came out -- only two national guardsmen went in.
But throughout the night and day, buses began picking up migrants and taking them to processing facilities. Some migrants didn’t make it across and waited on the other side.
But others, like Frances Nazareth and her daughter, made it.
”I spent many days at the gate trying to pass,” Nazareth said.
She said she prayed around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, and Friday morning, immigration officials called their names.
”It’s hard to explain what I’m feeling, because everything we went through and lived through to get here, now we have hope,” Nazareth said.
Nazareth left her home in Venezuela a few years ago. She shared pictures of herself in happier times but she says things turned violent, so she fled. She wiped away tears while talking about the difficult journey she embarked on with her daughter.
”And it’s really hard because they’re asking you, 'mom, when we are going to get there? Why are we here?' We have to sacrifice so much. You have to get rid of your belongings because they weigh too much, and we went days without eating,” said Nazareth.
And now, they are on the other side, joined by friends they met along the way.
The U.S. Border Patrol and Customs hasn’t said how many people have been apprehended since Title 42 ended, but yesterday, 10 thousand migrants were in custody -- a record number.
Once they left the border, some were taken to processing centers.
One of the larger ones is North of El Paso. They can house up to a thousand migrants for up to 72 hours. In June, the facility will expand to hold two thousand.
The migrants like Frances that are allowed to stay eventually have to go to an immigration court hearing, and that could take months or years. For now, she is just grateful to be in the U.S.
”We came for a real dream, a goal and to succeed,” said Nazareth.