U.S. border agents have been instructed to summarily deport migrants crossing into the country illegally without allowing them to request legal protection.

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.

Hours after Trump’s inauguration, his administration canceled appointments allowing migrants to enter the U.S. to request asylum, leaving many of them stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border.