All northbound lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry were closed early on Nov. 19, blocking traffic into the United States from Mexico, but some lanes reopened around 7:30 a.m.
The lanes were closed so that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel could place “port hardening materials” in place, the agency said. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen later said that CBP officials were notified that a large number of migrants from the caravan “were planning to rush the border in an attempt to gain illegal access to the U.S.”
The agency, with the help of troops from the Department of Defense, “appropriately responded by blocking the lanes, deploying additional personnel and seeking assistance from other law enforcement and federal assets,” she said, sharing pictures of concertina wire put up around the port of entry.
“Unfortunately, some members of the caravan are purposely causing disruptions at our border ports of entry. There is a legal and illegal way to enter the US. We have deployed additional forces to protect our border. We will enforce all our laws,” she added.
Southbound lanes remained open through the closure.
The agency also suspended processing northbound pedestrians at the San Ysidro Pedestrian East Facility but travelers can still use the West Facility.
“[We] have temporarily suspended vehicle processing for northbound travelers at the San Ysidro port of entry Monday morning to position additional port hardening materials,” the agency said in a statement to The Epoch Times. “After the materials are in position, CBP will resume processing northbound vehicle traffic in select lanes at the border crossing.”
CBP said in a second statement around 7:30 a.m. PDT that some lanes re-opened while others remained closed.
San Ysidro is the busiest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere, processing some 70,000 northbound vehicles and 20,000 northbound pedestrians every day.
Lane closures were previously announced for Nov. 13, at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry.
“CBP has been and will continue to prepare for the potential arrival of thousands of people migrating in a caravan heading towards the border of the United States,” said Pete Flores, director of field operations in San Diego, in a statement.
“These preparations include training exercises, deploying additional CBP personnel, and partnering with the U.S. military to harden our ports of entry and the border area between those legal crossings into the U.S.”
Thousands of migrants have poured into Tijuana in recent days, as up to 10,000 more traveling across three caravans heads north, largely toward the same border city. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordered thousands of troops to the border to support Border Patrol agents and place obstacles along the border.
About 6,000 are currently in place across California, Arizona, and Texas. Trump said that up to 15,000 could be deployed.
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