TEXAS, USA — The federal government on Friday reopened two cross-border railroad crossings in Texas, five days after the shuttering of rail operations there disrupted trade and sparked outrage from U.S. and Mexican businesses.
Customs and Border Protection closed railroad operations in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, on Monday to reallocate their customs officers to help Border Patrol take migrants into custody. Both regions have seen the number of illegal border crossings soar this month.
Operations resumed at both cities as of Friday afternoon.
Troy Miller, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s acting commissioner, said the closures at Eagle Pass and El Paso were a response to more migrants traveling on freight trains recently. Miller said authorities are seeing “unprecedented” arrivals at the border, topping 10,000 crossings on some days this month.
The closures affected two of the six available rail border crossings between the U.S. and Mexico. Union Pacific and BNSF, the affected carriers, said automotive, agricultural, chemicals and other consumer goods were halted. Union Pacific estimated that the closures cost $200 million in daily losses across affected industries.
News of the reopening was received with relief, but both BNSF and Union Pacific said they would be working diligently to make up for lost time.
“We will restore normal operations as quickly as possible as we work through the five-day backlog of shipments holding to cross the border,” a Union Pacific spokesperson said in a statement.
A delegation of top U.S. officials is expected to visit Mexico soon as negotiations over how to enforce immigration rules at the two countries’ shared border continue on Capitol Hill.
