Lukeville border crossing closed on way to Rocky Point: Here's what you need to know
The Lukeville Port of Entry in southern Arizona is now shut down indefinitely as U.S. border officials continue struggling to process a greater number of migrants crossing through this portion of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The closure began Monday and will impact both southbound traffic along State Route 85 heading into Mexico as well as northbound processing into Arizona.
Where is Lukeville?
Lukeville is about 115 miles south of metro Phoenix and across from the Mexican border city of Sonoyta. It is one of six communities in Arizona with a border crossing into Mexico, and the fourth busiest in terms of passengers and pedestrian traffic.
The Lukeville Port of Entry is the main route for travel from Phoenix and Tucson to the beach town of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, also known as Rocky Point.
Here is what else you need to know about the closure:
Opinion from Laurie Roberts: If Biden wants Arizona's votes, closing the Lukeville border is a bad way to show it
Why is Lukeville Port of Entry closed?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced last week that it would shut down operations at the Lukeville Port of Entry starting Monday, Dec. 4. In a statement, the border enforcement agency said the shutdown was necessary "to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody."
That means that the customs officers assigned to the Lukeville border crossing, which would normally inspect vehicles and passengers, will instead be reassigned to help U.S. Border Patrol agents process migrants at the border.
Since the summer, thousands of migrants have crossed the Arizona-Mexico border daily in the areas near Lukeville, such as Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the Tohono O'Odham Nation. Rather than evade detection, most migrants will wait to be picked up and processed by Border Patrol so they can claim asylum.
However, the number of migrants crossing through this part of Pima County this year has been so overwhelming that border agents have struggled to process large groups of migrants waiting to be picked up.
As part of their response, border agents set up a large tent north of the Lukeville crossing to use as a staging area to hold migrants while they are transported to the nearby Ajo patrol station. Customs officers from the Lukeville border crossing will help agents take in and process migrants after they have been picked up by border agents.
How long will the Lukeville Port of Entry be closed?
Customs and Border Protection said they would "temporarily" shut down the Lukeville Port of Entry, but they have not indicated how long it will remain closed. But it's not an uncommon occurrence.
Customs and Border Protection has periodically shut down border crossings or reduced operations along other parts of the U.S.-Mexico border for a number of reasons, including to help reassign customs officers to help with migrant processing. Some of those closures lasted for weeks, others for years.
Migrants: US to close Lukeville port in Arizona as border agency struggles with increasing migrant arrivals
For example, the PedWest/Chaparral pedestrian crossing between San Diego and Tijuana closed during the pandemic in 2020 and reopened in November, more than three years later. During that time, travelers had to use other crossings between those two border cities.
On Sept. 20, Customs and Border Protection suspended vehicle processing at the Eagle Pass International Bridge 1 to reassign customs officers. They resumed processing at the bridge nearly a month later. But vehicle processing once again shut down on Nov. 27 at that same location.
How do I get to Rocky Point with Lukeville Port of Entry closed?
With the Lukeville Port of Entry closed indefinitely, visitors to Puerto Peñasco will have to seek alternate routes, which will add several hours to their drive. Or postpone their visit until the Lukeville border crossing reopens.
Customs and Border Protection is directing travelers to cross into Sonora through Nogales about 200 miles east of Lukeville, or through San Luis, which is approximately 130 miles to the west.
With the Lukeville crossing closed, the most direct route from Phoenix to Puerto Peñasco goes through San Luis and will take just over six hours, according to Google Maps. That's an extra two hours of driving compared to the now-closed route through Lukeville.
The drive from Tucson to Puerto Peñasco through the Nogales border crossing would also take about six hours, adding two more hours to the trip as well.
While Puerto Peñasco is a popular destination for Arizona residents year-round, December through February are the slowest months for passenger traffic at the Lukeville crossing, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Have any news tips or story ideas about immigration in the Southwest? Reach the reporter at rafael.carranza@arizonarepublic.com, or follow him on X (formerly Twitter): @RafaelCarranza.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why is the Lukeville border crossing to get to Rocky Point closing?
