The arrival of up to 1,000 migrants, the latest large group to cross the border, was one of the largest single crossings in recent years in West Texas, which has seen immigration surge.
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EL PASO — After nightfall Sunday, hundreds of migrants crossed the Rio Grande into El Paso
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A caravan of people originally from Nicaragua whose crossing has been the largest in recent years along the West Texas border.
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Their massive arrival in the United States took them by surprise, even in El Paso.
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That has overwhelmed itself in recent months with a steady stream of migrants from Central and South America, more than 50,000 in October alone.
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Like the Venezuelan immigrants who flooded El Paso this year, those arriving from Nicaragua cannot be quickly deported under the pandemic-era public health policy known as Title 42, which federal authorities employ with immigrants from other countries such as Mexico.
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And so the scenes unfolding in El Paso offered a preview of the challenges that border officials may soon face along the entire southern border after the policy expires, as court intervention is expected to be absent next week.
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Most of those who arrived Sunday turned themselves in to federal authorities for processing.
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Soon, most of them will join thousands of others who have passed through in recent days, many of whom have been dropped off for aid and food.
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Some are clustered in downtown bus stations, some sleeping on cardboard at night when the temperature drops to freezing.