End of Title 42 immigration policy has brought fewer migrants than expected, but overcrowding concerns remain

The expiration of a Covid-related border restriction policy known as Title 42 has so far brought fewer migrant arrivals than expected, southern border communities have reported, but concerns remain about overcrowded migrant processing and detention facilities.

The mayor of Laredo said on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday the community received about 700 migrants on Saturday as well as some overflow from El Paso and Brownsville. The city has "not been overwhelmed at this point," Mayor Victor Treviño said, but challenges remain.

"Until we see the numbers at the border patrol custody centers go down, this is when we can say the episode has passed," he said.

Treviño, who is a medical doctor, also pointed out that families are coming through the border, which increases the likelihood that medical care will be needed for children.

"Because we don't have the pediatric intensive care unit in our city, that makes it concerning, because as it is we're at capacity most of the time in our hospitals and ambulances sometimes have to wait outside the emergency room for one or two hours before we can treat patients," he said.

Title 42 is a controversial Trump-era policy from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that allowed authorities to swiftly turn away migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border. The policy ended Thursday night along with the national coronavirus public health emergency.

Officials had warned that its end could result in a migrant surge that would exacerbate an already challenging humanitarian crisis at the southern border. Federal and local authorities prepared for an influx, with thousands of personnel from federal agencies dispatched to the border to support local authorities.