LUKEVILLE, Ariz. — The Lukeville Port of Entry reopened Thursday morning after a month-long shutdown.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said the border crossing will resume operations at 6 a.m. on Thursday.
The closure was prompted by a historic migrant surge in the Southwest border's Tucson sector. Customs and Border Patrol agents who staff the crossing have been diverted to processing migrants.
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Businesses on both sides of the border have suffered. The shutdown more than doubled travel time from Phoenix to the tourist town of Puerto Penasco, or Rocky Point, leaving it virtually deserted during a typically busy holiday season.
Travelers were forced to cross into or out of the U.S. through Nogales, a three-hour drive to the east, or San Luis, a two-hour drive to the west.
The Lukeville crossing is used mainly by passenger traffic. Senior administration officials also announced that the Nogales Morley gate would reopen Thursday.
"The closing of a port is not something we take lightly," a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We anticipate the (migrant) encounter numbers will continue to fluctuate."
Lukeville is in Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which was the single busiest region for border crossings in October. Staffing cuts to legal trade and travel are the latest response to demands for processing people who cross the border illegally, often to seek asylum, the Associated Press reported.
An average of 3,140 people in vehicles and 184 pedestrians entered the U.S. daily in Lukeville during October, according to the U.S. Transportation Department’s latest figures.
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