EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday that longer-than-normal wait times should be expected at the Ysleta Port of Entry as CBP agents who work at the port of entry are assisting with the influx of migrants.
“Personnel assigned to the Ysleta port of entry will assist U.S. Border Patrol with the processing of the influx of migrants currently occurring between the ports of entry in the El Paso area. The deployment of CBP officers from the Ysleta port will also likely impact wait times for members of the traveling public,” Roger Maier, public affairs specialist for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
On Thursday, CBP has said the Bridge of the Americas commercial lanes would be shut down until further notice for the same reason as agents were needed to help process migrants.
On Friday, wait times for commercial trucks at the Ysleta Port of Entry and Santa Teresa were up to double the average wait times, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website.
Border Patrol explained why more resources were needed.
“Since this happened, we don’t want our facilities to get to that overpopulated or close-to-capacity situation that we’ve seen in the past so we want to tackle it as soon as possible so that’s why we called in other agencies. Behind you, you have another part of the Department of Homeland Security. We’re calling other assets from CBP to help us take care of this as soon as possible,” said Fidel Baca, a spokesperson for El Paso Border Patrol.
Border Patrol says the number of migrants coming to the border wall just east of Fonseca along the Border Highway was down from what it was in the three days prior.
The daily average in that area for migrant encounters since Tuesday was 1,200.
Due to the influx this week, the Bridge of the Americas commercial lines were shut down for CBP agents to assist with the influx of migrants at the border.
Border Patrol continues to stress that the border is not open and migrants who cross are subject to expulsion under Title 42 or expedited removal under Title 8.
While the number of migrants was down on Friday, KTMS crews did see a group waiting in a dust storm by the border wall.
Juarez trucking executive Manuel Sotelo says the closure of the commercial lanes at the Bridge of the Americas has an impact on commerce.
“They prefer to take care of the migrants instead of the commerce and the community and this is a Washington order. We know locally there’s not much we can do,” Sotelo said.
