Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts and a group of Senate Republicans sent a letter Wednesday to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas calling for details on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) suspension of rail commerce at two locations on the border to allow faster processing of migrants.
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the letter, in which Ricketts and seven other GOP Senators called on Mayorkas to provide them with information regarding CBP’s actions to suspend international railway crossings and rail operations in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas.
“On December 18, 2023, CBP pulled personnel from those operations and redirected them to assist with the migrant surges at the southwest border. In recent weeks, CBP has also suspended vehicle processing at Eagle Pass International Bridge 1 and operations at California’s San Ysidro Pedestrian West and Arizona’s Lukeville Port of Entry. Without putting real policies in place to cut the increasing flow of illegal immigration, our national security and economy will continue to pay the price,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
“CBP’s decision to suspend rail service and close international crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso directly and immediately impacts our carriers’ ability to move goods across the North American rail network and to the North American consumers who rely on them. The success of our trade partnership with Mexico relies on the successful operation of these international railway crossings. U.S. goods and services trade with Mexico totaled an estimated $855.1 billion in 2022,” they continued.
“Eagle Pass and El Paso accounted for a total of $33.95 billion or 35.8% of all cross-border rail traffic to and from Mexico in the last year. This includes products such as grains, consumer goods, automobiles and auto parts, and chemicals. In 2021, the U.S. exported more than $2.6 billion of soybeans and more than $4.7 billion of corn to Mexico. American producers and consumers will suffer daily as long as these entry points are closed,” the lawmakers added. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Introduce Legislation To End Birthright Citizenship For Illegal Aliens)
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“This is happening because President Biden won’t do what it takes to get the border crisis under control. The President’s own team shutting down rail traffic to process thousands of migrants illegally crossing should be enough for him to admit we have a crisis at our border. It’s unacceptable American consumers and businesses are who will pay the price for Biden’s incompetence yet again,” Ricketts told the Caller before sending the letter. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans Release Behind-The-Scenes Footage From Latest Border Trip)
Ricketts was joined by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn.