U.S. to reopen Lukeville Port of Entry Thursday morning

The U.S. will reopen the Lukeville Port of Entry on Thursday, after a one-month closure to all traffic forced long detours for travelers between Arizona and parts of Sonora and disrupted routine crossings and commerce for border residents.

The Lukeville port’s operations will resume at 6 a.m. Jan. 4, Customs and Border Protection announced late Tuesday.

Additionally, in Nogales, the Morely Gate pedestrian crossing will reopen at 10 a.m. Thursday, after being closed since late September for improvements. CBP will also reopen border crossings Thursday in Eagle Pass, Texas, and San Diego that it closed along with Lukeville while temporarily shifting personnel to other duties.

“CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation. 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,” CBP said in the news release.

The closure that began Dec. 4 was announced suddenly by CBP, as it redirected Lukeville personnel to help the U.S. Border Patrol take migrants into custody while the border was overwhelmed by a surge in migrant arrivals. The closure to vehicular and pedestrian traffic was described as temporary but indefinite at the time.

The Border Patrol’s Tucson sector saw more than 64,000 migrant arrivals between ports of entry in November, making Tucson the busiest of all nine southern border sectors for five months running.

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The port closure forced Arizonans to drive hundreds of miles out of the way to get to and from the Sonoran beach town of Puerto Peñasco, and led to warnings by the U.S. Consulate that the detour routes were dangerous due to gang violence plaguing parts of northern Sonora.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs had called to no avail on the Biden administration to deploy the National Guard to keep the Lukeville port open to expedite traffic for Arizonans who need to cross. Hobbs eventually announced she was sending some guard soldiers to the border area to help local law enforcement, but not to staff the Lukeville port.

Sonoran tourism officials celebrated the opening news Tuesday evening.

“In Puerto Peñasco we received the news with great joy to resume operations and receive our tourists and visitors in these first days of the year and new beginnings,” said Martin Martinez, tourism director for Puerto Peñasco.