The Biden administration shared some figures Monday that indicate there were fewer than expected encounters between migrants and law enforcement at the Southwest border over the weekend during the first few days after the pandemic-era Title 42 migration policy was lifted.

The news briefing came a day after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN’s “State of the Union” that, over the first two days, there was a 50% drop in the number of encounters compared to the days leading up to the policy change.

The shift back to Section 8 was expected to bring a surge of migrants to the border. To try to stem the flow, the Biden administration expanded legal pathways and stressed that migrants who attempted to go around the system would face severe consequences — swift deportation, a five-year ban if they had no legal basis to enter the U.S. and criminal prosecution if they attempted to cross the border again.

Title 42 allowed the U.S. to quickly expel migrants, even those seeking asylum. The Biden administration ended the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergencies Friday.

Blas Nuñez-Neto, the Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for border and immigration policy, told reporters Monday that hundreds of migrants, including Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans, have been returned to Mexico since Friday. Thousands of others have been repatriated to more than 10 countries, including Colombia, Honduras and Peru, he said.

Nuñez-Neto said thousands more migrants are currently being held in U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities and moving through an expedited removal process.

He said the number of daily encounters from Friday to Sunday averaged less than 5,000. In the three days leading up to Friday, encounters had surged above 10,000 a day, DHS said.

Leading up to Title 42’s expiration, Republicans — and some Democrats — accused the Biden administration of not adequately preparing for the expected influx of migrants.

Administration officials, however, are insisting the numbers prove they were ready.

“What we've seen over the last few days as we transition from Title 42 to Title 8 processing is the result of nearly two years of preparation, a whole-of-government approach and a return to regular order even as we continue to operate in the confines of a broken and outdated immigration and asylum system,”Nuñez-Neto said. “We continue to make the message loud and clear to intending migrants: Use the lawful pathways that we have expanded and provided or face the consequences of choosing dangerous, illegal options, only to be returned to your homes.”

Nuñez-Neto said last week’s border surge was within the parameters the government had prepared for. Meanwhile, he said the number of migrants in government custody has fallen since last week but remains relatively high. 

In response to a Florida court ruling last week, border patrol agents have not been issuing notices for migrants to report to immigration office within 60 days, Nuñez-Neto said. Instead, Customs and Border Protection has only issued notices to appear, which signal the start of removal proceedings.

Nuñez-Neto, however, acknowledged “it is still way too early to draw any firm conclusions.”

He repeated a call made by several Biden administration officials that Congress should pass immigration reform legislation.

We are committed to working innovatively within our statutory authorities to deal with the challenges we are facing,” Nuñez-Neto said. “But we do ultimately recognize that without bipartisan congressional action, we are going to continue to see these surges and challenges on our border.”

Marta Youth, principal deputy assistant secretary at the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, noted that 20 million people in the Western Hemisphere have been forcibly displaced from their homes, reaching “historic highs.” The United Nations defines forced displacement as resulting from persecution, conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations.

“Addressing the challenges of irregular migration, providing protection to refugees and asylum seekers, and offering these lawful pathways have been key priorities of this administration,” she said. “We've been working on safe, orderly and humane migration management from Day 1.”

While the Biden administration suggested it has had the border under control over the first few days after Title 42 lapsed, Republicans said they see things differently.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., released a statement Monday saying, “The already-deteriorating situation at the border is getting worse, and it is a crisis of the president’s own making and neglect.” He continued to insist Biden has not adequately prepared for a migrant surge.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, tweeted Monday: “Biden does not have the will to do anything about the deluge of crime, drugs, and gang violence coming across our southern border.”

And Rep. Chip Roy accused Biden and Mayorkas of lying about the border “as they always do.” 

“The only reason that you don’t have complete chaos at the border is because Texas is standing in the gap,” Roy told Fox Business on Monday morning. “Texas DPS [Department of Public Safety] are the ones that are sitting at the border with razor wire turning people away from those parts of the border, and that is causing folks to then go to the ports of entry.”

Roy and the the Republican Study Committee called Monday for Mayorkas to be impeached.