BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Border Report) — An international bridge remains closed and mandatory truck inspections at two others are causing crippling delays as migrants again are increasingly coming into South Texas illegally from Mexico.
Bridge closures began Nov. 27 so border officers who normally process cars on the bridge can assist U.S. Border Patrol agents who are apprehending groups of migrants along the riverbanks, Dennis Smith, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Del Rio Sector, told Border Report on Thursday.
In Eagle Pass, Bridge 1 remains closed to vehicular traffic from Mexico, but vehicles heading south can use the bridge, Smith said, adding that pedestrians can still cross both ways.
Migrants are seen Sept. 23, 2023, under Bridge 2 in Eagle Pass, Texas, where border law enforcement have a mobile site to process asylum-seekers. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report File Photo)
The closures and delays are hurting the local economies of several South Texas communities, and are a near repeat of what happened in Eagle Pass at the end of September and into October, which cost the border community over $500,000 in lost bridge revenue and trade, officials said.
Texas state Rep. Eddie Morales Jr., a Democrat from Eagle Pass, told Border Report that 1,400 migrants on Tuesday and 700 on Monday crossed through one pecan orchard located on the Rio Grande, all coming from Piedras Negras, Mexico.
“It continues to be a huge issue,” Morales said. “We just can’t keep throwing money away. We need to do things differently to try to fix this.”
Morales says mandatory inspections by Texas DPS officials of all commercial vehicles coming from Mexico into Eagle Pass have added to the chaos and are causing long delays for truckers waiting at the only open bridge connecting the border cities.
The inspections are part of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which also has surged DPS troopers and Texas National Guardsman to the area to increase border security.
The state of Texas has spent over $10 billion in the past two years on border security and during this past Legislative Special Session No. 4, lawmakers approved spending $1.5 billion more.
“I understand that the governor is trying to send a strong message to Mexico, and specifically to the mayors and the governors of the respective states and asking them to control the migrant surge,” but he said the truck inspections are hurting binational commerce and need to stop.
A line of trucks backs up Sept. 21, 2023, as Texas DPS troopers conduct mandatory inspections on commercial vehicles entering Eagle Pass. Mandatory inspections are again being done in the border town. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report File Photo)
He says commercial truck inspections also are being done in Del Rio — 55 miles north of Eagle Pass — and are causing delays at the city’s only international bridge leading to Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.
Morales says the mayor of Del Rio has reached out to other leaders and wants to form a coalition of border leaders to lobby Abbott to ease up on inspections so that more trade and commerce can cross.
“We have a backlog of all these commercial vehicles that are in the waiting staging area. They’re on the bridge, they’re on the Mexico side as they’re trying to find their time to cross to the U.S. and through Texas,” Morales said. “Thousands of dollars in losses with these vehicles at a standstill. It impacts the local economy as well as the entire state of Texas and the United States.”
Smith says CBP does not give out information on migrant crossings in specific areas, but surge operational resources to meet demands.
“We’re always preparing for what we see around us in every case,” Smith said.
Mexican and social media reports say thousands of migrants are trying to board trains hours south of Piedras Negras headed to the Mexico border with South Texas.
On Wednesday in Brownsville, Texas, about 100 migrants crossed the Rio Grande from Matamoros and tried to enter via a hole in the concertina wire. Video sent to Border Report shows Texas National Guard preventing them from reaching a levee, while construction crews work to rebuild the wire that was put by Operation Lone Star forces.
Border Report has reached out to DPS officials and asked how long the truck inspections are expected to continue. This story will be updated if information is received.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
Read: Read More