Texas has closed key border ports and nearly $500 million in trade has come to a halt!

The major railway companies, in conjunction with Pacific and Berkshire Hathaway's subsidiary BNSF, are urging the reopening of El Paso and Igelpas border crossings so that their goods can pass through. Earlier this week, in the fight against illegal immigration and the surge in immigration, Texas closed these key border crossings, and nearly $500 million in trade has come to a halt.

The United Pacific Company stated that there is $200 million worth of trade entering and exiting these transit points every day. The US Customs and Border Protection announced that railway operations in El Paso and Igelpas, Texas will be suspended starting from Monday due to a surge in cross-border immigration. These two railways have a total of 24 trains running at these intersections every day.

BNSF stated that it is still evaluating the economic impact in an unstable situation.

These two border crossing points account for 45% of the cross-border business of the United Pacific. United Pacific Company stated that for every day the border is closed, the company is forced to prohibit over 60 trains (nearly 4500 carriages) from transporting customer goods, which are equivalent to Mexican goods. United Pacific Company stated that this is also a labor issue for the railway, as employees are unable to work and it is unclear when they will be able to return to work. BNSF also mentioned the issues faced by employees providing daily services on cross-border trains, as well as the significant downstream impact it describes on the entire freight system employees, with affected trains typically operating over a network of 32500 miles.

According to data from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, from November 2022 to October 2023, El Paso and Iger Pas accounted for $33.95 billion, or 35.8%, of all cross-border rail traffic.

Government officials stated that the closure is a safety and security issue for immigrants, and cited cases of dismemberment, death, and unaccompanied children riding railways. The number of people provided each time ranges from 500 to 1000, posing a significant challenge to the security of CBP and immigrants.

Both railway companies have refuted these numbers.

United Pacific said in a statement, "Very few immigrants enter the United States by train." "During this massive surge, only five people have attempted to enter the United States by United Pacific train in the past five weeks."

The company stated that it collaborates with the Pacific Police Department and its employees with the United States Customs and Border Protection to ensure that all trains are inspected.

A spokesperson for BNSF said in a statement, "Through our efforts, we have found that very few people have attempted to cross the border by train at two ports of entry."

BNSF and United Pacific both stated that they have security and technology, such as X-ray, to detect illegal goods and personnel.

The closure of railways has sparked strong protests from the grain and chemical industries that use railway transportation products.