Eagle Pass Economy Slammed By Partial Closure of International Bridge I and DPS Commercial Vehicle Inspections Due to Migrants’ Surge
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
The City of Eagle Pass, Texas economy has been slammed by double adverse governmental actions at the height of its busiest international trade period of the year, the December-Christmas holiday season, with the partial shutdown of vehicular traffic from Mexico on the Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 1 by the U. S. Department of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Monday, November 27, 2023 and the reinstatement of commercial vehicle inspections upon tractor-trailers coming into the Eagle Pass Port of Entry from Mexico by the Texas Department of Public Transportation (DPS) on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, causing devastating damages to the local economy allegedly due to the increased number of undocumented immigrants crossing the Rio Grande River into the United States from Mexico at Eagle Pass during the month of November 2023.
The double federal and state governmental actions could not have come at a worst time of the year as the Eagle Pass economy was just beginning to recover from previous similar CBP bridge closures and DPS commercial vehicle inspections in 2022 and earlier in 2023.
The December-Christmas holiday season generally generates up to 60 to 70 percent of annual gross sales for Eagle Pass retail and wholesale businesses who depend heavily upon Mexican customers spending their Christmas bonuses on goods and commodities.
The City of Eagle Pass also greatly benefits during the Christmas holiday season with significant increased vehicular traffic at its two international bridges filling the city coffers with bridge revenues that fund up to fifty percent (50%) of its annual fiscal year budget.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, Jr. stated the City of Eagle Pass has lost up to $500,000 in revenues as of this week due to the loss of bridge fare revenues and trade with Mexico.
The U. S. CBP issued a statement on Monday, November 27th, advising the public that read as follows: “The U. S. is continuing to see increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals and encourage migration. As we respond with additional resources and apply consequences for unlawful entry, the migration trends shift as well. We continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes such as CBP One.“
The CBP statement added: “Beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time, CBP’s Office of Field Operations will temporarily suspend vehicle processing operations at Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 1 in Eagle Pass, Texas and at 2 p.m. local time, reduce vehicle processing in Lukeville, Arizona in order to redirect personnel to assist the U. S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody. In response to this influx in encounters, we will continue to surge all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants. We will maximize consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the United States. CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation.”
CBP noted that this measure to close the Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 1 will remain in effect until further notice.
The Texas DPS immediately followed the CBP closure of the Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 1 with a statement of its own reinstating commercial vehicle safety inspections on all trucks coming into the Eagle Pass Port of Entry through the Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2 Import and Export Lot effective Tuesday, November 28, 2023, causing long delays in crossing a load of goods and merchandise from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas of up to 6 to 10 hours instead of the regularly 30 minutes to 2 hours waiting times.
Previous DPS commercial vehicle inspections during September 2023 and April 2022 failed to locate any undocumented immigrants nor drugs aboard the thousands of trucks inspected. These earlier inspections, however, caused the United States over $9 Billion in loss of gross domestic product (GDP), including $4.3 Billion in Texas alone.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and DPS have issued these commercial vehicle safety inspections every time there is a rise in undocumented immigrants crossings into the United States as political gamesmanship with President Joe Biden and the Mexican government concerning the immigration surge in the United States. The commercial vehicle inspections are a retaliatory measure to exhort political pressure upon the Mexican government to do more to control the migrant caravans from reaching the Texas-Mexico border.
The problem with these commercial vehicle safety inspections are that it significantly increases the waiting time to cross a truck into the United States and the costs associated with longer fuel and labor costs and disrupts just in time manufacturing schedules. American and multi-national companies end up losing hundreds of millions of dollars from these inspections.
In Eagle Pass, Mexican transportation companies are having to cross their goods through farther ports of entry, resulting in higher costs of doing business, which are ultimately passed on to consumers as higher prices for the goods. Also the City of Eagle Pass International Bridge System loses millions of dollars in bridge revenues that normally go to pay for one-half (50%) of the city’s annual fiscal budget.
The longer the double-governmental whammy continues, the more damages the Eagle Pass economy will sustain. City leaders hope the partial closure of Bridge No. 1 is lifted immediately as well as the DPS commercial vehicle inspections since its largest revenue base is during the December-Christmas holiday shopping or business season.
In recent times, each occasion that Governor Abbott loses a major legislative political battle at the Texas legislature such as the most recent school voucher program, he uses the immigration crisis card and orders DPS to reinstate commercial vehicle safety inspections at the smaller Ports of Entry like Eagle Pass and Del Rio seeking to pressure both President Biden and the Mexican government to do more about the migrants crossing into the United States.
Eagle Pass and Del Rio lack the political and financial clout at the state capitol in Austin, Texas and in Washington, D. C. to cause CBP and DPS to lift their ill-advised adverse governmental actions before driving Eagle Pass’s economy into the ground. The longer these two adverse governmental actions remain in effect, the greater the financial losses the Eagle Pass economy will sustain and the longer it will take for the economy to recover, including some businesses may close or go out of business.
