ROCKY POINT, Sonora — Are you still planning to drive to Rocky Point despite the closing of the Lukeville Port of Entry?
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico is saying: Don't do it.
In other border news:
-Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs' deployment of Arizona National Guard soldiers won't happen until the new year. According to Hobbs' spokesman, Christian Slater, the governor "continues to not hear anything" from the Biden Administration about a border response.
-Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers are patrolling near Lukeville to deter crime.
-There is no timeline for Lukeville's reopening.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Embajada de Estados Unidos advierte a viajeros de Arizona no conducir hasta Puerto Peñasco durante cierre de la frontera
'Strongly advised' to avoid other routes
In an updated travel advisory Wednesday, the Embassy said travelers from the U.S. are "strongly advised not to use alternate routes through Sonora."
The advisory comes after three U.S. residents were shot - one of them fatally - while driving Saturday on one of the alternate routes to Rocky Point.
The shutdown of the Lukeville/Sonoyta Port of Entry - now in its 17th day - adds at least two hours to the usual three-hour and 45-minute travel time for people heading from Phoenix to Rocky Point/Puerto Penasco.
The direct route from Phoenix to Rocky Point, on Mexico's Highway 8, is the only route U.S. government employees are allowed to use. That route has been cut off by the Lukeville closing.
Based on the embassy's warning, that leaves Arizona travelers with no options for driving.
The shutdown has decimated economies on both sides of the border. The holiday season is a very busy time, with beach visitors flocking to Rocky Point.
Customs and Border Protection agents who staff the Lukeville Port of Entry have been diverted to processing the record number of migrants who have crossed into the Tucson sector over the last three weeks.
Gov. Katie Hobbs' office and the CBP say there is no timeline for reopening Lukeville.
Business leaders: 'Closures intolerable'
The leaders of two major business organizations in Arizona and Texas posted a joint statement declaring "bridge and port closures are intolerable."
"The consequences of a mismanaged border and of unscrupulous smugglers who lie to migrants should not be borne disproportionately by the American people. The processing of legitimate trade and travel should take priority over migrants with dubious amnesty claims," according to the statement by Danny Seiden, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and his predecessor, Glenn Hamer, now the president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business.
Congress has shut down for the holidays without passing a border spending bill that would also toughen immigration restrictions.
Hobbs' response still taking shape
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' border response is still taking shape.
Last week, she ordered the National Guard to the border in a support role.
According to Hobbs' office, details on the Arizona National Guard and the state Department of Public Safety include:
-The Guard deployment won't happen until sometime in the new year.
-The exact number of soldiers and their duties are still being worked out, based on information from local communities. The Guard will act in a support role for DPS, providing logistical, administrative, and analytical support.
-Guard members do not have the authority to detain migrants.
-In the meantime, DPS troopers are building up in the Lukeville area to block the flow of illegal drugs and human smuggling. DPS declined to provide more information on its mission.
"This is a team effort," Maj. Gen. Kerry L. Muehlenbeck, Department of Emergency and Military Affairs director and adjutant general of Arizona, said in a prepared statement.
"We are diligently working with our partners to ensure the safety and security of all Arizonans."