SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Latest on US efforts to resume regular deportations of Haitians amid a surge of new arrivals at California border crossings with Mexico:

A top US immigration official says 40,000 Haitians may be on their way to the United States amid what she calls an "emergency situation" on California's border with Mexico.

Read: US toughens stance on Haitians seeking entry from Brazil

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana said Thursday in Washington that the estimate came from other governments during a recent trip she made to Central America.

Saldana told the House Judiciary Committee that word of the new arrivals contributed to the Homeland Security Department's announcement on Thursday that it was lifting special protections shielding Haitians from deportation that were put in place after their country's 2010 earthquake. She says changing conditions in Haiti also played a part.

The Haitians are coming from Brazil and travelling through Central America and Mexico.