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ALBUQUERQUE — The Border Patrol is taking the unusual step of shutting down its interior checkpoints across New Mexico and a swath of West Texas as officials scramble to respond to a surge in families requesting asylum along the Southwest border.

A spokesman for the Border Patrol said the temporary measure was intended to help provide “appropriate care” for migrants apprehended at the border. The closing of checkpoints — not at the border, but up to 100 miles inland — reflects the strain on border operations as the number of migrants entering the country, which in February reached an 11-year high, continues to climb.

The authorities closed checkpoints across the Border Patrol’s El Paso sector, which includes 121,000 square miles in New Mexico and 4,500 square miles in Texas, in order to free more agents to work directly on the border.