Thread: Railroads urge reopening of Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas border crossings

Railroads urge reopening of Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas border crossings

U.S. Customs and Board Protection shut down the vital trade gateways in the wake of surging immigration activity.

Published Dec. 18, 2023

Larry Avila Trucking Editor



A Union Pacific Railroad engineer watches the track while crossing the Rio Grande into Mexico on Aug. 5, 2023 near Eagle Pass, Texas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection closed the crossing and another in El Paso, Texas, on Monday due to heightened immigrant activity. Dustin Safranek via Getty Images

Union Pacific and BNSF railroads urged U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday to reopen the vital rail bridge crossings at Eagle Pass, Texas, and El Paso, Texas, after the agency shut the gateway due to heightened immigration activity.

A week before Christmas, the two railroads stressed the need to reopen the crossings to allow for the seamless movement of goods. The corridors represent 45% of cross-border Union Pacific business and include goods critical to the U.S. economy, the railroad said in a statement, adding “there isn’t enough capacity at our other four gateways to reroute them.”


This Union Pacific map shows where its trains cross between Mexico and the U.S. at Eagle Pass, Texas, and El Paso, Texas.
Union Pacific via LinkedIn.

For each day the border is closed, Union Pacific said it is forced to embargo customers’ goods on more than 60 trains, or nearly 4,500 rail cars. The railroad added it is doing what it can to stage trains and work with customers to prevent congestion at the border.

“The longer this closure is in effect, the more difficult it will be for cross-border trade to resume,” the railroad said in a statement.

BNSF is working with customers to meet their needs and prevent further congestion stemming from the crossing closures, the railroad said in an emailed statement to Supply Chain Dive.

“We are in regular communication with CBP and other federal agencies urging both crossings be re-opened immediately,” BNSF said. “Every day of closure increases the impact to the supply chain for critical commodities, including automobiles, industrial products and grain.”

U.S. Customs announced Sunday it would temporarily suspend operations at the international railway crossing bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas at 6 a.m. EST Monday, following a resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains. The agency, in cooperation with Mexican authorities, is assisting the U.S. Border Patrol in taking migrants into custody.

“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,” U.S. Customs said in a statement. The agency did not say when the Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas border crossings would reopen.

Customs officials have made several operational adjustments to respond to heightened border crossing activity in recent weeks, including closing vehicle and pedestrian crossings.

Vehicle processing was suspended on Nov. 27 at Eagle Pass and at Eagle Pass International Bridge 1, according to customs officials. The Cal San Ysidro’s Pedestrian West crossing in San Diego, California, closed on Dec. 9 and the Lukeville Port of Entry in Lukeville, Arizona, closed on Dec. 4.

https://www.supplychaindive.com/news...ridges/702865/

They should be urging Mexico to stop this invasion.

Quite frankly, those tracks need to be dismantled in several places until Mexico stops dumping people over our border!

Put them on buses back to Southern Mexico!