U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Sunday that it is temporarily suspending operations at the international railway crossing bridges in El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas.
“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,” CBP said in a statement. “After observing a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains, CBP is taking additional actions to surge personnel and address this concerning development, including in partnership with Mexican authorities.”
Starting Monday, CBP will suspend operations at the crossing bridges and redirect personnel to help Border Patrol with handling the intake of migrants.
On Sunday alone, border officials apprehended about 3,000 illegal border crossers in Del Rio, Texas, and even more—about 1,300—in El Paso, CNN reports.
Last Tuesday, encounters with illegal immigrants topped 10,000 in a single day.
🚨HAPPENING NOW - Over +2,000 migrants are awaiting to be processed in Eagle Pass as massive groups of migrants continue to cross illegally here. Federal officials are completely overwhelmed by the migrant surge that is non-stop here. This also comes after CBP suspended… pic.twitter.com/OMlreaDt1N
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) December 18, 2023
“We continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes such as CBP One™ and those without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” the statement added.
Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas sounded off on how the border crisis is affecting trade.
This year alone, vehicle and rail operations have been suspended at multiple ports of entry due to an overwhelming number of migrants, worsening delays for truck drivers transporting goods and costing our economy millions.
— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) December 18, 2023
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Our border communities desperately need more federal resources, and we need tougher measures at the border.
— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) December 18, 2023
We must secure the border now.
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