Border woes: CBP closing Arizona port of entry amid migrant surge

PHOENIX – Officials with Customs and Border Protection announced on Dec. 1 that they will temporarily suspend operations at an Arizona border crossing.

In a statement, officials said operations at the Lukeville Port of Entry will be temporarily suspended, beginning on Dec. 4, in order to “redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody.”

“Both northbound and southbound pedestrian and vehicle traffic at Lukeville Port of Entry will be suspended until further notice. Travelers can cross into or out of the United States through either the Nogales Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona or the San Luis Port of Entry in San Luis, Arizona,” read a portion of the statement.

The Lukeville Port of Entry sits on Highway 85, which begins in the Buckeye area. The highway turns into Federal Highway 8 after entering Mexican territory, which ends in Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point. The two Ports of Entry CBP officials mentioned in their statement are both over 100 miles away from Lukeville, in opposite directions.

While there is an airport in Rocky Point, the airport does not have flights to any American airports.

We first reported on problems at the port of entry on Nov. 27. At the time, CBP officials said they were temporarily reducing vehicle processing in Lukeville, due to “increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals and encourage migration.”