Mexican officials are trying to stem the flow of illegal immigrants to the United States, which has also led to the suspension of some rail operations and trucking at the main U. S.-Mexico border crossing.
According to CNN, the number of illegal immigrants trying to reach the United States has increased dramatically recently, with more than 8600 immigrants crossing the border in the past 24 hours. Officials from both countries have been trying to control the situation to stop illegal immigrants from boarding U. S.-bound vans.
CNN reports that more and more families with children are trying to pass through Mexico to the United States.
Mexican authorities work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Mexico's largest rail operator Ferromex.
Ferromex suspended 60 train lines last week, essentially halting service to the U.S. border, citing six accidents and deaths involving immigrants. The company said it would not resume service on routes at risk of more such accidents.
The company's management said the railway's outage caused Ferromex daily losses of up to 40 million pesos (2.32 million dollars) and that other operators were also affected.
Union Pacific announced last week that 2000 cars were stranded due to the temporary closure of the Eagle Pass (Eagle Pass) crossing in Texas, as the mayor declared a state of emergency. Amtrak also announced an embargo on shipments to Eagle Pass.
Trucking operations at road crossings were also disrupted as Customs and Border Protection CBP deployed personnel to assist with immigration entry. On top of that, the Department of Homeland Security is sending about 800 agents to the border crossings. "
Mexico's Chihuahua state governor said that at El Paso's Bridge of the Americas, which handled more than 161000 trucks last year, the suspension of CBP service will affect at least 600 trailers a day, "which could represent about 33 million dollars a day".
In addition, San Diego's trucks are temporarily out of service.
The Mexican Railway Association warned that the disruption of border services would also affect domestic supply chains. Transportation of agricultural products, construction materials, automobile production and general cargo distribution will all be affected.
The authorities also seem to be concerned. On Friday, Mexico's Foreign Ministry urged the U.S. government not to take "unilateral measures" that would complicate trade.
Source: one shipping