Update on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Closure of Eagle Pass & El Paso Crossings
Announcement Number: CN2023-67
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: December 19, 2023
To Our Customers,
Union Pacific is working closely with multiple government agencies to reopen the El Paso and Eagle Pass border crossings closed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) yesterday. However, at this time, the Department of Homeland Security does not have an estimated time of reopening. These locations represent 45% of cross-border shipments on Union Pacific and include goods critical to the U.S. economy.
Every day the border is closed, Union Pacific is forced to embargo customers’ goods on more than 60 trains, or nearly 4,500 rail cars, with an equivalent of goods being held in Mexico. Union Pacific is doing everything possible to stage trains and work with customers to prevent congestion at the border. The longer this closure is in effect, the more difficult it will be for cross-border trade to resume. We estimate that the overall economic impact of the border closure is more than $200 million each day.
We encourage you to contact your elected officials to share your concerns regarding the CBP Agency closure of train traffic and request a timeline for reopening. If you have any relationships with Congressional offices or Executive Branch Agencies, please reach out to them as well.
Please reference our Embargo page or the AAR Embargo System for additional details. If you have any questions, please contact Customer Care & Support at 800-272-8777 or your Union Pacific representative.