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EL PASO, Texas � The border between the U.S. and Mexico was relatively calm Friday, offering few signs of the chaos that was feared following a rush by worried migrants to enter the U.S. before the end of COVID-19 immigration restrictions.

Less than 24 hours after the rules known as Title 42 were lifted, migrants and government officials were still assessing the effect of the change and the new regulations adopted by President Joe Biden's administration to stabilize the region.

"We did not see any substantial increase in immigration this morning," said Blas Nunez-Neto of the Department of Homeland Security. He said the agency did not yet have specific numbers.

Migrants along the border continued to take their chances getting into the U.S., defying officials shouting for them to turn back. Others hunched over cellphones trying to access the appointment app that is a centerpiece of the new measures. Migrants with appointments walked across a bridge hoping for a new life. Lawsuits sought to stop some of the measures.

The Biden administration said the new system is designed to crack down on illegal crossings and to offer a new legal pathway for migrants.

Migrants are now essentially barred from seeking asylum in the U.S. if they did not first apply online or seek protection in the countries they traveled through. Families allowed in as their immigration cases progress will face curfews and GPS monitoring.

Across the river from El Paso in Ciudad Juárez, migrants watched their cellphones in hopes of getting a coveted appointment to seek entry. Nearby, other migrants were charging their phones on a lamppost to try to get an appointment. Most were resigned to wait.

"I hope it's a little better and that the appointments are streamlined a little more," said Yeremy Depablos, 21, a Venezuelan traveling with seven cousins who has been waiting in the city for a month.

Fearing deportation, Depablos did not want to cross illegally. "We have to do it the legal way."

The legal pathways touted by the administration consist of a program that permits up to 30,000 people a month from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter if they apply online with a financial sponsor and enter through an airport.

About 100 processing centers will open in Guatemala, Colombia and elsewhere for migrants to apply to go to the U.S., Spain or Canada. Up to 1,000 can enter daily through land crossings with Mexico if they snag an appointment on the app.

Biden commended Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for his country's collaboration to establish the migration hubs. The two leaders sat down Friday at the White House for wide-ranging talks on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, climate change and other issues. 

The Biden administration argues that the current migration quandary facing the Americas is a global problem that needs a global solution � much like refugee crises that impacted Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine in recent years.

“Spain and the U.S., we have common interests about democracy, prosperity and safe, regular and orderly migration patterns," Sánchez said.

The new system could fundamentally alter how migrants come to the southern border. 

Biden, who is running for reelection, faces criticism from migrant advocates, who say he's abandoning more humanitarian methods, and from Republicans, who claim he's soft on border security.

Melissa López, executive director for diocesan migrant and refugee services at El Paso said the streets were calm Friday, with few migrants present. She said many migrants told her they are willing to follow the pathway created by the federal government, but there is fear about deportation and possible criminal penalties for people who cross the border illegally.

The lull comes after large numbers of migrants crossed the border in hopes of being allowed to stay in the U.S. before the Title 42 restrictions expired.

Hundreds of migrants, mostly families, sat in two dozen rows between the border walls between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, as Border Patrol agents selected who would be allowed to be processed. When some got up with them, those left behind cheered.

Title 42, in place since March 2020, allowed border officials to quickly return asylum seekers back over the border on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. declared the national emergency over, ending the restrictions.

Title 42 carried no legal consequences, encouraging repeat attempts. After Thursday, migrants face being barred from entering the U.S. for five years and possible criminal prosecution.

Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said Friday in a tweet that the agency apprehended 67,759 people in the last week. That averages out to 9,679 per day � nearly twice the average daily level of 5,200 from March.

It's slightly below the 11,000 figure that authorities said was the upper limit of what they expected after Title 42 end, but it wasn't clear where numbers peaked before Title 42 expired Thursday night.

Border holding facilities were already far beyond capacity. Officials had orders to release people with a notice to report to an immigration office in 60 days if facilities reached 125% capacity or when they were held 60 hours or more. The quick releases were also to be triggered when authorities stopped 7,000 migrants along the border in a day.

Late Thursday, a federal judge temporarily halted the administration's plans to release people into the U.S., and set a court date on whether to extend the ruling.

Other parts of the administration's immigration plan were also in legal peril.

Advocacy groups sued the administration on its new asylum rules minutes before they took effect, alleging the new policy is no different than one adopted by former President Donald Trump, which a court rejected.