TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Starting Monday, Dec. 4 the Lukeville Port of Entry plans to shut down operations. Border Patrol says they have no choice but to redirect their officers to be catching and processing migrants instead.
This means the port on the way to Rocky Point will be closed to cars and pedestrians. Travelers will cross in or out of the United States through either the Nogales or the San Luis Port of Entry. Either direction can expect a three to four hour detour.
KGUN9 has spoken with leaders in Nogales like Jaime Chamberlain, the chairman of the Nogales Santa Cruz Port Authority who says over the weekend, customs would try and open as many lanes as possible before the Lukeville closure came into effect. Chamberlain says closing down Lukeville's Port of Entry will aggravate backups in Nogales.
"Our community does not understand how the federal government can think that processing migrants takes precedence over the $688 billion worth of economic business we do between Mexico and the United States," said Chamberlain.
Many customs officers have already been diverted away from inspections to help process asylum seekers.
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Brooke Chau is a reporter for KGUN 9. She was a part of Fresno State's newscast, Fresno State Focus and interned at KFSN-ABC30 in Fresno, CA before coming to KGUN 9. Share your story ideas and important issues with Brooke by emailing brooke.chau@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.