Migrants illegally entering us via Mexican border to be denied asylum: US Justice Dept.

Migrants who illegally enter the United States through the southern border with Mexico will be ineligible for asylum, the Department of Justice said in a press release.

"Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen today announced an Interim Final Rule declaring that those aliens who contravene a presidential suspension or limitation on entry into the United States through the southern border with Mexico issued under section 212(f) or 215(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) will be rendered ineligible for asylum," the release said on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump is expected to sign this proclamation on Friday. Currently, migrants who enter the United States illegally between ports of entry are able to apply for asylum.

The rule requires all migrants to apply for asylum at US ports of entry along the southern border, according to a document that will be published in the Federal Register on Friday.

Senior US administration officials said during a conference call on Thursday that they are working to ensure they have the resources and man power at the ports of entry to prepare for any large number of asylum seekers arriving at the border.

The officials added that the intention with the rule is to more quickly determine which migrant need asylum.

At the moment, a migrant caravan set out from Honduras is passing through Mexico toward the United States in the hope of obtaining asylum. According to UN estimates, the caravan includes more than 7,000 migrants. However, Mexican authorities have said that the caravan marching through its territory included around 3,600 migrants.

Trump is deploying 5,000 military personnel to the US-Mexico border as the migrant caravan moves toward the southern border, but has said he could increase the number of troops to 15,000.