Video of Overcrowded El Paso Border Control Facility Sparks Debate

A video taken by Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales has gone viral and sparked a debate on immigration into the U.S. following the end of the Title 42 policy.

Title 42 is a public health law dating back to 1944 that allows authorities to stop people entering the U.S. from foreign countries where there is "the existence of any communicable disease" that could spread to Americans. The policy came to an end last week.

It had been reinstated by the Centers for Disease Control in March 2020, during Donald Trump's tenure as president, in a bid to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Joe Biden initially opted to keep the policy when he came to office and defended it as a necessary public health measure in the battle against the coronavirus.

However, Title 42 faced criticism as some claimed it was being used to prevent migration to the U.S. rather than as a health policy. Critics also claimed it was preventing asylum seekers from reaching safety.

The clip, filmed by Gonzales, has gone viral and been viewed more than 550,000 times since being posted Sunday.

The footage was shared on Twitter by Fox News' Bill Melugin and was captioned: "Video courtesy of TX Congressman @RepTonyGonzales office shows significant overcrowding in Border Patrol's Central Processing Center in El Paso, TX on Friday. He says they have a max capacity of around 1,000, but there were 6,000 that day. This room capacity 120, but had 750"

Some social media users were quick to question why the individuals in the clip were men rather than families attempting to gain asylum in the U.S.

Twitter user Marion J wrote: "Why is this all young men? Where are the displaced families seeking refuge that we hear so much about."

Fox News' Tomi Lahren also commented: "Looks like a lot of adult males to me…not vulnerable women and children seeking refuge."

Twitter user J.Riotte wrote: "Wow... imagine if this was happening under Trump? [the left] msm machine would be losing it…but these sockpuppets give Dementia Joe another pass."

Another user wrote: "Remember when the Democrats complained about these processing centers when Trump was President, I don't think they look this bad then. The Democrats don't give a rat's a** about these illegal immigrants they want them for future voters."

Despite post-Title 42 concerns, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said the city has so far seen a "smooth transition," according to reports.

In a CNN report Leeser said El Paso is still preparing for what a future influx could look like.

"We know that we still need to prepare for the unknown because we don't know what's going to happen next week and continue to happen day in and day out," Leeser said.

He added that his community is getting the necessary resources from the state and federal government to deal with the situation.

He added: "We all know the immigration process is broken, there's no ifs and buts about it, but we are getting the resources that we need because our city and the southern border couldn't do it without federal aid."

Father Rafael Garcia of the Sacred Heart Church in El Paso also spoke to CNN and defended the migrants.

Garcia, who said thousands of migrants took refuge around his church for weeks ahead of the expiration of Title 42, detailed their stories.

He said the majority of migrants his church encountered had recently traveled from Venezuela, where some described struggling to survive on the equivalent of $5 to $10 a month.

He said: "It's not an easy decision for them to come, but they all believe they cannot survive back home.

"Their desire, typically from everybody, they say 'I want to work. I want to be able to start a new life. I want to send money back to family still in Venezuela.' That's pretty much the common theme."

Newsweek has contacted Tony Gonzales via Facebook for comment.