Border Patrol Takes a Rare Step in Shutting Down Inland Checkpoints
ALBUQUERQUE — The Border Patrol is taking the unusual step of shutting down its checkpoints across New Mexico and a swath of West Texas as officials scramble to respond to a surge in families requesting asylum along the Southwest border.
A spokesman for the Border Patrol said in a statement that the temporary measure was intended “to process and ensure appropriate care for those in custody.” The closing of checkpoints up to 100 miles inland from the border reflects the strain on border operations as the number of migrants entering the country, which in February reached an 11-year high, continues to climb.
The authorities closed checkpoints across the Border Patrol’s El Paso sector, which includes 121,000 square miles in New Mexico and 4,500 square miles in Texas, in order to free more agents to work directly on the border.
“To process and ensure appropriate care for those in custody, resources including personnel have been diverted from other border security priorities,” Customs and Border Protection officials said in a statement on the closings, first reported by Texas Monthly. “This is intended as a temporary measure. Checkpoints are integral to U.S.B.P.’s border security mission.”
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