U.S. authorities temporarily closed two railroad border crossings in Texas on Monday to help agents process migrants. Rail operators were warned that the temporary closures would hamper trading in the run-up to Christmas.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's decision to suspend operations at the Eagle Pass and El Paso railroad crossings adds another point of tension over immigration amid a battle in Washington between White House and Senate negotiators to reach an agreement on border security.
At the same time, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott was preparing to sign a new law that would give police sweeping new powers to arrest migrants for illegal entry and give local judges the authority to order them to leave the country .
“After observing a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations transporting migrants through Mexico via freight trains, CBP is taking additional steps to recruit personnel and address this developmentally, including in collaboration with Mexican authorities,” said the agency in a statement.
Last month, CBP also closed one of the two international bridges in Eagle Pass for the same reason. Similar actions were taken in other busy parts of the border, including Lukeville, Arizona and San Diego.
Union Pacific said the two Texas border crossings account for 45% of cross-border activity and urged the government to immediately reopen the locations. For each day the border is closed, freight traffic on nearly 4,500 rail cars would be halted.
“There is not enough capacity at our other four gateways to divert them,” the company said in a statement.
Three months of large increases in illegal border crossings were followed by a 14% drop in October, federal government data shows.
Throughout the weekend, senators and White House officials worked behind closed doors at the Capitol on a border security deal that Republicans in Congress are demanding in exchange for any aid for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs.
The talks also focused on removing some migrants who have already been living in the U.S. without full legal status, and on ways to temporarily close the U.S.-Mexico border to some crossings if they reach a certain threshold. The number of migrant arrests exceeds 10,000 on some days.
“Commerce is grinding to a halt, and our law enforcement officers are exhausted awaiting a demoralizing holiday season that will keep them working overtime,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican whose district includes Eagle Pass and much of Texas. border. “If there was ever a time to sound the alarm, this would be it.”
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Weber reported from Austin, Texas.