US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) suspended freight rail operations at three border bridges in Texas, according to new reports that cite increased migrant smuggling as the reason for the closures in El Paso and Eagle Pass.
According to a statement to news media, CBP said it has observed a resurgence of smuggling operations that transport migrants through Mexico via freight trains.
CBP said the suspensions at two railroad bridges in El Paso and one in Eagle Pass, which took effect at 9 a.m. EST Monday, will be temporary. However, officials did not provide a time frame for the reopening of the rail bridges.
El Paso has two railroad bridges, one each for BNSF Railway and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP). Eagle Pass has one rail bridge that serves both Union Pacific and BNSF.
In response, Union Pacific, which operates in both locations, has placed an embargo on its US-Mexico freight, which will affect 60 trains and close to 4,500 rail cars.
“These locations represent 45 percent of cross-border Union Pacific business and include goods critical to the U.S. economy,” Union Pacific said in a statement on its website. “There isn’t enough capacity at our other four gateways to reroute them. With Christmas and the New Year’s holidays just days away, Union Pacific is in close communication with multiple government agencies and our customers, urging that the crossings closed by CBP be reopened.”
Officials at BNSF, which also operates on the railroad bridges in El Paso and Eagle Pass, said they were “disappointed” with the closures.
“We are in regular communication with CBP and other federal agencies urging both crossings be re-opened immediately,” the company said. “We are also working closely with our customers to meet their needs and to prevent further congestion stemming from the crossing closures. Every day of closure increases the impact to the supply chain for critical commodities, including automobiles, industrial products and grain.”
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) also called for an immediate reopening of both border crossings.
“The urgency of reopening these crossings and restoring rail service between the two nations cannot be overstated,” AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement to news media. “There are not separate US and Mexican rail networks; there is only one interconnected North American rail network. Every day the border remains closed unleashes a cascade of delay across operations on both sides of the border, impacting customers and ultimately consumers.”