EL PASO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection El Paso Field Office is advising members of the traveling public to plan for longer than normal wait times at area ports beginning Wednesday, November 14. A large number of specially trained CBP officers from the El Paso, Santa Teresa and Tornillo ports of entry are being deployed to CBP’s Arizona and California ports of entry to support the CBP response to the approaching caravan which now appears to be heading in that direction.
“The deployment of our officers to support migrant processing and border security efforts in Arizona and California will have an impact on Customs and Border Protection’s trade and travel facilitation locally,” said El Paso Director of Field Operations Hector Mancha. “Cross-border travelers should expect lanes to be closed and anticipate processing times to increase. We suggest reducing or consolidating your cross-border trips, and if you must cross the border, build extra time into your schedule to accommodate these expected delays.”
The movement of resources will impact all shifts and reduce CBP’s ability to maintain the All Lanes Open Initiative between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. It is likely crossing times will increase.
Members of the traveling public can monitor Border Wait Times online or obtain the CBP BWT app on their smartphone via the Apple App Store or Google Play allowing them to check wait times and make an informed decision on where to cross. These wait times are updated hourly. Travelers can also observe current traffic conditions at the Paso Del Norte, Stanton and Ysleta bridges on the city of El Paso website.
Regarding the approaching caravan CBP is monitoring the situation. CBP continually assesses the capabilities of facilities throughout the southwest border and have been making - and will continue to make - necessary preparations. These include participating in operational readiness exercises and the mobilization of resources as needed to ensure the facilitation of lawful trade and travel through the ports of entry.
CBP is firmly committed to our overall national security mission, which includes ensuring the safety and security of the traveling public—both documented and undocumented—as well as our law enforcement officers and border communities.