The US-Mexico border is effectively closed off to migrants seeking asylum in the United States within hours of President Donald Trump taking office, an extraordinary departure from previous protocols that has left many concerned migrants in limbo.

The Trump administration has essentially eliminated the ability to pursue asylum at the border, attempting to erase by executive order a right established in U.S. and international law. The restrictions leave migrants who claim they fear for their lives almost no path toward safety in the United States.

WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump on Monday declared a national border emergency and ordered the U.S. armed forces to repel "forms of invasion" at the U.S.-Mexico border, including illegal migration and drug trafficking.