A top commercial trade bridge at the United States-Mexico border will reopen following a three-week closure due to a sharp rise in the number of immigrants crossing illegally in the vicinity.
The Bridge of the Americas cargo facility in El Paso, Texas, will resume commercial operations Tuesday after being halted on Sept. 18 as federal customs officers were pulled from their posts to assist Border Patrol agents.
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“Beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 10, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will resume commercial operations at the Bridge of the Americas cargo facility with a limited schedule,” CBP said in a statement Monday afternoon.
The bridge will be open Monday through Friday between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time. CBP encouraged commercial trucks to drive to nearby ports of entry in West Texas and New Mexico, where hours of operation have been extended for the past several weeks.
Wait times for trucks at other ports have topped 10 hours recently, in addition to the time delays that trucks incur driving hundreds of miles to nearby ports.
The bridge closure was to allow CBP Office of Field Operations officers to assist Border Patrol in processing illegal immigrants, including children and families.
Over the past several weeks, immigrants have crossed into El Paso in groups of hundreds of people at a time. Border Patrol has released more than 5,000 people onto the street each week, placing a burden on local and regional transportation networks that immigrants and residents rely on.
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“CBP regularly plans for and executes contingency measures, such as this, to support the overarching agency mission and ensure the safety and wellbeing of those in the agency’s custody,” the statement said.
CBP said it will continue to monitor the border situation and make operational changes “as necessary.”
