Homeland Security said Sunday it will suspend cross-border freight train operations at crossings between Mexico and El Paso and Eagle Pass in Texas.
The agency said officers need to be shifted from their regular duties to help Border Patrol agents catch and process the record-shattering surge of migrants.
The closures will start Monday morning, and they are the latest grim yardstick for the Biden administration, which has welcomed the most chaotic border in modern history.
Customs and Border Protection, the agency that oversees the land crossings, said it’s seen a “resurgence” of migrants riding freight trains through Mexico, which sparked the move.
“CBP is continuing to surge all available resources to safely process migrants in response to increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals,” the agency said in an unsigned statement.
The Biden administration has repeatedly found itself at the mercy of the smuggling cartels, who more than ever are dictating the terms at the border, deciding when and where waves of migrants will try to enter.
They overwhelm Border Patrol agents, which experts say gives the cartels a chance to send more high-value cargo through while agents are distracted.
The train shutdowns come at a particularly bad time for the Biden administration, which is enmeshed in negotiations on Capitol Hill over border security. Republicans have demanded major changes to border policy as part of a $106 billion emergency national security spending bill.
President Biden has so far resisted big changes, instead opting for policies that end up welcoming many migrants rather than derailing the flow. The result has been obliteration of previous records for border encounters with unauthorized migrants.
Things are starting to boil over, however.
In the last several weeks CBP has shut down the entire border crossing at Lukeville, Arizona; suspended vehicle processing at one of Eagle Pass’ international bridges; and curtailed crossings at San Ysidro in California.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican whose district includes Eagle Pass, said the shutdowns show the border is at a crisis point.
“While mass migrant caravans pull CBP personnel off the front lines, multiple Border Patrol checkpoints have been shut down — allowing contraband and criminals to flow in without resistance,” he said. “Trade is slowly coming to a standstill, and our law enforcement officers are exhausted ahead of a demoralizing holiday season that will keep them working overtime.”
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