LUKEVILLE — The Lukeville-Sonoyta Port of Entry reopened shortly after 6 a.m. on Thursday as 10 cars lined up outside the port to cross into Mexico and a few dozen others were processed into the U.S.
Security personnel removed the barrier blocking the official crossing at 6:02 a.m. and allowed the awaiting travelers to pass through.
Tony Wayland, a Goodyear resident, was one of the first people in line Thursday morning. He sat in his truck hauling a flatbed trailer in the early morning darkness.
“It’s a good thing, it should’ve happened earlier,” Wayland said. “However, there are working businesses down here that are starving and it’s not right.”
Senior Biden administration officials announced the reopening Tuesday afternoon along with the resumption of operations at the Morley Pedestrian Port of Entry in Nogales. U.S. Customs and Border Protection closed the Lukeville port on Dec. 4 because of an increase in migrant arrivals in the nearby Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Port officers were reassigned to help Border Patrol process and transport hundreds of migrants arriving at the monument a mile west of the official crossing. Border Patrol agents were processing about a dozen migrants near the port’s pedestrian walkway and they were loaded into an awaiting van.
The reopening comes after a month of closure that has inflicted harsh economic and social effects on communities in Arizona and Sonora. Residents, advocates and business owners on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border rejoiced in the decision to reopen the port.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs welcomed the news but said that the closure shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Hobbs urged the federal government to send more resources to the border to ensure that another port closure doesn’t happen.
“The closure of the Lukeville Port of Entry caused a month of strain and concern for Arizona’s border communities,” Hobbs said in a written statement. “While Lukeville will be reopened soon, it’s clear we have work to do to secure our border.”
In December, Hobbs sent members of the National Guard to southern Arizona, including near the Lukeville port, in response to the port’s closure. Members are tasked with helping law enforcement agencies with fentanyl interdiction, analytical support and human trafficking enforcement efforts.
National Guard members cannot operate the Lukeville port without federal orders.
CBP announced that operations also will resume at the Eagle Pass International Bridge I in Eagle Pass, Texas, and at the San Ysidro Port of Entry Pedestrian West crossing in San Diego.
This is a developing story. Follow along for more updates.
Have a news tip or story idea about the border and its communities? Contact the reporter at josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @joseicastaneda.
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