Four ports of entry along the United States-Mexico border will reopen this week following weekslong closures that caused major delays to trade and travel.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced late Tuesday evening that border crossings in Lukeville, Arizona; Eagle Pass, Texas; Nogales, Arizona; and San Diego would reopen Thursday.
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The ports were closed during a historic immigration surge that forced federal officers to be redeployed to other areas to handle the influx. Over the past two months, Border Patrol agents in the Del Rio/Eagle Pass region alone arrested nearly 69,000 illegal immigrants, according to federal data obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner late Tuesday.
“CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation,” CBP officials said in a statement. “We continue to assess security situations, adjust our operational plans, and deploy resources to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes – such as scheduling an appointment via CBP One™ – and those without a legal basis to remain in the United States.”
CBP shut down entire operations or some operations at the four ports last month, a move that infuriated Democrats and Republicans in each region.
The Lukeville Port of Entry was closed on Dec. 4, 2023, as illegal immigration in southeastern Arizona surged, and CBP chose to close off the port to redirect its Office of Field Operation officers to help Border Patrol agents process immigrants in custody.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) told the Washington Examiner early last month that the situation was a “lose-lose” for Arizona residents.
“People that have homes on both sides — they need to cross for medical reasons, or they need to cross for school, cross for shopping or trade and commerce and tourism,” Ciscomani said. “There is zero upside to closing that Lukeville port. Trade has stopped. Tourism has stopped. Businesses on the U.S. side are seeing a 50 to 70% decrease in their sales.”
Ciscomani, along with Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), had called on the Biden administration to immediately reopen the Lukeville port for weeks before the January announcement.
“Arizona border communities are in crisis and our men and women on the front lines do not have the resources they need to manage the overwhelming numbers of migrants crossing the border,” Hobbs said in a December joint statement with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
The Lukeville port will reopen at 6 a.m. MT Thursday. Several hours east, Nogales Port of Entry officials will reopen the Morely Gate at 10 a.m. Thursday.
In San Diego, the busiest pedestrian border crossing in the Western Hemisphere will reopen at 6 a.m. PT Thursday.
The San Ysidro Port of Entry’s pedestrian west operations will commence after weeks of being shut down. Northbound inspection booths will run from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, while southbound crossings will be open from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
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In Texas, Eagle Pass’s International Bridge 1 will reopen to passenger vehicles at 7 a.m. CT.
But through Wednesday, operations remain closed, even as more than 60 House Republicans traveled to the remote border town to see the impact of the border crisis.
