U.S. Customs and Border Protection reopened the three international border bridges at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, on Friday afternoon, allowing freight rail operations to proceed through those checkpoints, affected railroads said Friday.
CBP reopened the international gateways at 1 p.m. CST, thus resuming 24/7 operations there, according to a Friday customer notification from Western Class I railroad BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B).
The agency had suspended freight rail operations at three border bridges connecting Texas and Mexico in response to increased levels of migrant smuggling operations in the region. El Paso has two railroad bridges, one each for BNSF Railway and Union Pacific, while Eagle Pass has one rail bridge that serves both railroads.
The railroads expressed relief at the reopening of the border crossings, which have been closed since Monday. Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) said this week that the closure resulted in the holding of nearly 10,000 rail cars on both sides of the border.
“The Biden administration made the right decision to protect our supply chain and keep goods moving between the U.S. and Mexico,” said Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads, in a statement Friday. “In the face of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis, CBP has been working under exceptionally difficult circumstances, but these ill-advised closures were a blunt force tool that did nothing to bolster law enforcement capacity. As CBP continues their work to address this crisis, railroads strongly encourage the agency to abandon this tactic moving forward in favor of approaches that are capable of meaningfully enhancing its response capabilities.
“With the crossings reopened, railroads are focused on closely partnering with CBP to maintain the secure, reliable service that customers deserve and our nation requires,” Jefferies said.
UP called the border crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso “critical” to international commerce and said it would seek to “restore normal operations as quickly as possible as we work through the five-day backlog of shipments holding to cross the border.”
BNSF’s temporary permit embargo affecting southbound traffic moving through Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, to Mexico, still stands for now, according to its Friday customer notification, with permits being issued on a case-by-case basis. The embargo impacts all shipments excluding automotive and intermodal, which are being managed through alternate means, BNSF said.
Following the reopening, CBP issued a statement, saying: “CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation. We continue to assess security situations, adjust our operational plans, and deploy resources 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.”
CBP previously closed the Eagle Pass gateway in September because of a surge in migrants attempting to cross the border in South Texas.
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