Video Showing Line of Migrants Entering Texas Viewed Over 2 Million Times

A video showing a large line of migrants in a Texas border town has gone viral on social media, garnering millions of views as crossings surge ahead of the end of Title 42.

A long-standing part of U.S. law concerning public health emergencies, Title 42 was enacted by President Donald Trump in March 2020 to allow for the expulsion of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border under the pretense that their arrival would exacerbate the COVID-19 pandemic.

The measure has remained in place during the first two years of Joe Biden's presidency, when numerous crises in Latin American countries have fueled surges in illegal border crossings, with official government figures estimating that 2.7 million people have been expelled under Title 42.

Democratic opponents have attacked Title 42 for blocking the ability of migrants to seek asylum in the U.S., while supporters in the Republican Party have called for it to continue and be expanded for use outside of public health emergencies. The measure is set to be lifted on Thursday, along with most other COVID-19 emergency protocols in the U.S., prompting concerns about a surge in border crossings.

On Sunday, Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin shared a clip of drone footage taken near the border, showing a long line of migrants who had recently crossed into Texas. The video was taken near Brownsville, a Southern Texas town just over the border from Matamoros, Mexico. As of late Monday morning, the clip had been viewed about 2.5 million times.

"Remarkable video from our Fox drone team shows an enormous line of hundreds of migrants who just crossed illegally into Brownsville, TX this evening," Melugin wrote. "A large majority of them are single adults. The RGV continues to see a massive surge of illegal crossings ahead of T42 drop."

The tweet from Melugin did not specify roughly how many migrants were in the line or what they were lined up for.

The video comes amid reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seen a surge in crossings at the border as the end of Title 42 draws near, according to a report from the Associated Press. AP reported that roughly 30,000 migrants had entered the U.S. near Brownsville since mid-April. It was a significant uptick in activity as the same region saw about 1,700 crossings in the first two weeks of April.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol press office via email for comment.