Udall, Heinrich Request Restored Border Crossing Hours for Export Vehicles at Santa Teresa Port of Entry

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced they have sent a letter to Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Eduardo Medina Mora, asking him to work with the Mexican Federal Customs Agency to restore crossing hours for export vehicles at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry. Earlier this month, the Mexican Federal Customs Agency dramatically reduced the hours of operation for processing vehicles being exported from the United States to Mexico, creating a traffic backup along New Mexico's highways that generated safety concerns, blocked roads for other cars and commercial trucks, and hurt businesses on both sides of the border.

"The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and the New Mexico Border Authority (NMBA) have informed us of a recent decision by the Mexican Federal Customs Agency to drastically reduce crossing hours for export vehicles at the Santa Teresa International Port of Entry," Udall and Heinrich wrote in the letter. "We respectfully request that you reach out to the Mexican Federal Customs Agency to begin working with their U.S. counterparts to restore the crossing hours back to twelve hours per day." 

Effective July 7, the hours of operation for processing vehicles on the Mexican side of the border were reduced from 12 hours per day to three. While NMDOT has temporarily mitigated congestion by rerouting traffic to private roads, the senators emphasized that a permanent solution must be found. 

The full text of the letter is available below. 

The Honorable Eduardo Medina Mora

Ambassador of Mexico to the United States

1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20006

Dear Ambassador Mora: 

The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and the New Mexico Border Authority (NMBA) have informed us of a recent decision by the Mexican Federal Customs Agency to drastically  reduce crossing hours for export vehicles at the Santa Teresa International Port of Entry. We respectfully request that you reach out to the Mexican Federal Customs Agency to begin working with their U.S. counterparts to restore the crossing hours back to twelve hours per day.

When the reduction of hours first took place, from twelve hours a day to three hours, it created a dangerous backlog of vehicles impacting New Mexico’s highways and the safety of individuals using them. Additionally, vehicles waiting to be exported into Mexico began forming long lines on the shoulder of our state highways, and created significant safety concerns for privately owned vehicles and commercial trucks using the highway. While the NMDOT has found temporary solutions by rerouting this traffic to private roads, this is only a temporary fix. In addition, this congestion is negatively impacting the movement of commercial traffic in the Santa Teresa industrial base from New Mexico to Mexico, hurting both U.S. and Mexican businesses.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, we appreciate your consideration of this request. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can further assist in this matter.

Sincerely,

Tom Udall

United States Senator

Martin Heinrich

United States Senator