Crucial trade route thrown into chaos as Biden shuts down railroads over illegal immigration

The Biden administration's decision to close key railroads at the US-Mexico border because of an increase in illegal immigration is causing chaos at shipping companies.

Bridge crossings along three major railroads that cross the southern border through Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, were closed “in order to redirect personnel to assist the US Border Patrol in apprehending migrants” . seconds to US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Companies that used these railways for business are badly affected and are insisting that they be reopened.

As of Monday, 10,000 rail cars have stopped across those railroads, representing about 60 trains in total, according to The Loadstar, citing data from Union Pacific.

“The urgency to reopen these crossings and restore rail service between the two nations cannot be overstated,” said Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), in a statement Monday. “Every day that the border remains closed causes a cascade of delays in operations on both sides of the border, affecting customers and ultimately consumers.”

Immigration courts add a million cases to backlog as border crisis worsens@DailyCaller⁩ https://t.co/lVcwrGKV40

—Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) December 19, 2023

The shipping companies most affected – AAR, Union Pacific and BNSF – operate on these railroads “24 hours a day” and rely heavily on them for their business, Jefferies said in its statement. About 45% of Union Pacific's cross-border business operated over these three railroads, and there is no efficient alternative to ship its output. seconds in the company

“There is insufficient capacity at our other four gateways to reroute them,” Union Pacific said in a statement on its website. “The longer this closure is in place, the more difficult it will be for cross-border trade to resume.”

According to the companies, shipping will be severely affected for goods such as consumer and agricultural products, chemicals, auto parts and finished vehicles, food and beverages and “industrial commodities” such as cement and metals .

While the shutdown is currently limited to those three rail systems, eventually all railroads will be affected because “all carriers exchange freight on the U.S. rail network,” according to Jefferies.

Encounters of illegal immigrants at the border have flat tire under the Biden administration, more than 2 million in fiscal year 2023, close to the 2022 numbers of 2.2 million, the highest level on record. CBP resources in states bordering Mexico have been converted casting trying to deal with the worsening migrant crisis while the Biden administration refuses to agree on a tougher border security deal.

CBP and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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