The US secretary of homeland security has said that his country's borders 'are not open' as Covid-era immigration restrictions are lifted at midnight Friday 12 May.

'I want to be very clear: our borders are not open. People who cross our border unlawfully and without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed,' Alejandro Mayorkas said.

Title 42 border restrictions were put in place at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic ostensibly to stop the spread of the virus.

The Biden administration announced it would end the restrictions in line with the downgrading of Covid-19 as a national public health emergency.