The Biden administration will reopen four ports of entry at the southern border, senior officials said on Tuesday. This decision comes at the same time that congressional Republicans prepare a visit to the border to see the immigration crisis firsthand.
The four ports of entry that will be reopened are in Eagle Pass, Texas; San Ysidro, California; Lukeville, Arizona; and Nogales, Arizona. According to NBC News, the ports were closed at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) scrambled to respond to the influx of migrants that came to the border. CBP encountered more than 300,000.
On Monday, CBP reportedly encountered less than 500 migrants in the Del Rio sector, which a Biden administration official called a “significant improvement over where we have been in recent weeks.”
"While it is important to note, as well, that this is the time of year when we normally expect to see encounters decrease over the holiday period, it's also important to note that the closing of ports of entry is something we do as a last resort," the senior administration official said. "It's something that we do not take lightly."
"We are encouraged that we have seen some increased enforcement in Mexico and a decrease in our encounters in recent days," the official added.
In a joint statement, Arizona Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I) and Mark Kelly (D) said they felt “relieved” that the ports of entry would reopen.
"Following our calls, we’re relieved that the Lukeville Port of Entry and Morley Gate are reopening — but in Arizona, we continue to experience the devastating effects of this unacceptable closure and our broken border system," the senators said.
Following our calls, we’re relieved that the Lukeville Port of Entry & Morley Gate are reopening – but in AZ, we continue to experience the devastating effects of this unacceptable closure & our broken border system. Read our statement with @SenMarkKelly:https://t.co/60grMkYbsW
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) January 3, 2024
This week, the Biden White House tried to blame Republicans for the ongoing illegal immigration crisis at the southern border ahead of the Republican lawmakers’ visits to the border.
“Actions speak louder than words,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement obtained by POLITICO ahead of the Republican border visits. “House Republicans’ anti-border security record is defined by attempting to cut Customs and Border Protection personnel, opposing President Biden’s record-breaking border security funding, and refusing to take up the President’s supplemental funding request.”
“After voting in 2023 to eliminate over 2,000 Border Patrol agents and erode our capacity to seize fentanyl earlier in 2023, House Republicans left Washington in mid-December even as President Biden and Republicans and Democrats in the Senate remained to forge ahead on a bipartisan agreement,” Bates added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson responded, claiming that Biden “has been derelict in his duty” to secure the southern border, according to The Hill.
On X, Johnson wrote that the Biden administration “decided to divert the flood of illegal immigrants to another location in order to keep them out of the camera shots during @HouseGOP’s visit to Eagle Pass.”
“Don’t be fooled, they are still being released into our country,” he added. “Under President Biden, our Southern border is a disaster.”
Here is Eagle Pass just weeks ago vs. yesterday.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 2, 2024
The Biden Administration decided to divert the flood of illegal immigrants to another location in order to keep them out of the camera shots during @HouseGOP’s visit to Eagle Pass. Don’t be fooled, they are still being released… pic.twitter.com/XzjPVq5xxB