Four ports of entry closed in recent weeks because of a surge of migrants will be reopened Thursday now that the surge has eased, according to Biden administration officials.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is opening operations in Lukeville and Nogales, Arizona; Eagle Pass, Texas; and San Francisco, because of the decrease in migrants over the past few days, the administration said Tuesday, reports ABC News.
"CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation," the agency said in a statement Tuesday. "We continue to assess security situations, adjust our operational plans, and deploy resources to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes – such as scheduling an appointment via CBP One – and those without a legal basis to remain in the United States."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, accompanied by a delegation of the chamber's Republicans, will visit Eagle Pass on Wednesday. Biden administration officials urged the House Republicans to negotiate after a deal on border funding is negotiated in the Senate.
A senior official said Johnson and his party should "stop playing games and stop playing politics" while working with them and the Senate "to pass meaningful reforms."
Earlier in the day, Johnson accused administration officials of clearing out immigrants at Eagle Pass so they would not be photographed when his delegation is there.
"Here is Eagle Pass just weeks ago vs. yesterday," he said on X, posting side-by-side photographs. The picture from weeks ago showed numerous immigrants at the site, while the current photo shows none.
"The Biden Administration decided to divert the flood of illegal immigrants to another location in order to keep them out of the camera shots during @HouseGOP's visit to Eagle Pass," Johnson posted. "Don't be fooled, they are still being released into our country. Under President Biden, our Southern border is a disaster."
Meanwhile, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, who last month announced she would be sending National Guard soldiers to the border with Mexico after the Lukeville port of entry was closed, said Tuesday she's glad to see the port reopening, but insisted it should never have been closed.
"The closure of the Lukeville Port of Entry caused a month of strain and concern for Arizona's border communities," Hobbs, a Democrat, said in a statement, reports Tuscon NBC affiliate KVOA. "While the reopening is welcome news, this closure shouldn't have happened in the first place."
The state's ports of entry, she added, "are vital to national security and trade, and it's critical that the federal government sends more resources to ensure this does not happen again."
Even though Lukeville's station will reopen soon, "it's clear we have work to do to secure our border," Hobbs further said. "As Governor, I am committed to keeping our communities safe and prosperous, and look forward to working with border communities to get that done."
Biden administration officials told reporters Tuesday night that the meeting involving Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with Mexican government officials was successful and led to the decision to reopen the ports of entry.
The Mexican government, after the meeting, helped slow the flow of migration into the United States, the officials said.
The administration plans to host Mexican officials later this month.
A senior immigration official commented there were 500 encounters Monday with migrants in the Del Rio, Texas sector, encompassing Eagle Pass. This was a decline from the record numbers reported at the border last month.
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, weighed in on the negotiations between the White House and Senate on his foreign aid package. Senate Republicans have put the package, which includes funding for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the border, on hold while calling for border reforms.
Biden told pool reporters the Republicans "ought to" give the administration the money it is seeking as "we ought to do something."
According to preliminary data, 302,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern border in December, marking the highest monthly average in U.S. history.
But a senior administration official told ABC News that since the Title 42 provisions ended in May, 460,000 migrants have been returned to their home countries. This includes 75,000 family units, the official, whose name was not reported.
"This is almost the same number as we removed in all of fiscal year 2019, and in fact exceeds the number of removals and returns in each full fiscal year from 2015 to 2018," the official said.