25 asylum-seekers cross into El Paso in ‘Remain in Mexico’ rollback

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso on Friday became the third U.S. border crossing to accept asylum-seekers who had been forced to wait in Mexico.

There were 25 migrants who were the first to be processed by U.S. immigration officials in El Paso. The group entered the U.S. on the Paso Del Norte bridge before being taken to the Annunciation House, which is providing temporary care for the asylum seekers.

The ports of entry in Brownsville, Texas and San Ysidro, California already started processing migrants over the past week.

The move comes after President Joe Biden began rolling back his predecessor's "Remain in Mexico" policy, which forced tens of thousands of asylum-seekers to wait for their U.S. immigration hearings in Mexico.

But many of them had to wait for months, if not years, often in tough conditions. In the meantime, many migrants faced the threat of extortion, kidnapping or sexual assault.

The White House estimates that some 25,000 people still have active immigration cases.

(CNN contributed background to this report.)