U.S. preps for increase in migrant crossings as border restrictions set to end

FILE PHOTO: A migrant sleeps, after crossing the Rio Bravo river border between Mexico and the United States, while waiting to turn himself in to U.S. Border Patrol agents, seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 25, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration is devising a strategy for the possible arrival of tens of thousands more migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border after the anticipated end of COVID-19 restrictions next month, scrambling to find potential holding centers, speed up deportations and increase processing of refugees abroad.

The administration is expected to announce a package of new measures as soon as this week that would include stepping up the currently small number of Latin Americans admitted through the U.S. refugee settlement program, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.