US Suspends Railway Operations at 2 Texas Checkpoints Amid Migrant Influx

Immigrants wait to be received across a railroad bridge at the border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, state of Chihuahua, Mexico, on Aug. 7, 2023. Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) temporarily suspended operations at international railway crossing bridges in two Texas cities amid increased levels of illegal immigrant encounters at the border.

The bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso were closed on Dec. 18, while CBP redirected personnel to assist with taking illegal immigrants into custody, the agency said in a statement.

It said the measures were taken due to “a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains.” CBP also partnered with Mexican authorities to curb illegal border crossings.

“CBP is continuing to surge all available resources to safely process migrants in response to increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals,” the release stated.

The agency pledged to prioritize U.S. border security in response to the “evolving situation.”

“Over the past several weeks, CBP has made a number of operational adjustments in order to maximize our ability to respond, process, and enforce consequences. In Eagle Pass, vehicular processing remains suspended at Eagle Pass International Bridge.

“In San Diego, California, San Ysidro’s Pedestrian West operations remain suspended. In Lukeville, Arizona, the Lukeville Port of Entry remains closed,” CBP added.

U.S. border authorities encountered more than 142,000 illegal border-crossers at the U.S.–Mexico border in the first half of September, according to data shared by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

‘Continuous Groups’

Footage on social media showed a long line of immigrants at the Eagle Pass crossing. News Nation said about 2,000 were seen at the checkpoint on Dec. 18.

The U.S. Border Patrol said on Dec. 15 that over the past couple of weeks, it had encountered “continuous groups of migrants led by misinformation making illegal entry into the United States.”

“Rumors circulating on social media that areas between the ports of entry on the southwest border—BSI 36 in the El Paso Sector—are open to illegal migration are patently false,” the agency said in a statement.

“The flow of migrants has been continuous since then and at one point the number of migrants staging at BSI 36 rose to approximately 150 people.

“This group was mostly composed of single adults and but also including families with children, mostly of Venezuelan origin.”

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said rail operations have been suspended at multiple ports of entry because of “an overwhelming number of migrants, worsening delays for truck drivers transporting goods and costing our economy millions.”

“Our border communities desperately need more federal resources, and we need tougher measures at the border. We must secure the border now,” he stated on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Dec. 18.

Customs and Border Protection officers finish a training exercise on the halfway point of the international bridge between the United States and Mexico, in Eagle Pass, Texas, on April 19, 2022. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) has called on the Biden administration to “put politics aside” and “deliver on policy solutions that fix this border crisis once and for all” in order to ensure national security.

“Trade is slowly coming to a standstill (and) our law enforcement officers are exhausted ahead of a demoralizing holiday season that will keep them working overtime. If there was ever a time to sound the alarm, this would be it,” he stated on X.

Meanwhile, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has ordered the National Guard to the Lukeville Port of Entry and the San Miguel crossing to tackle border issues, citing a lack of action from the Biden administration.

“Yet again, the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep our communities safe,” she said in a statement on Dec. 15.

Ms. Hobbs also requested that the federal government reimburse the state for more than $512 million in costs incurred as a result of “federal border inaction.”

Reuters contributed to this report.