Mexican business group says closure of US rail border crossings costing $100 million per day

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A leading Mexican business group said Wednesday the U.S. decision to temporarily close two railway border crossings into Texas is costing $100 million per day in delayed shipments.

The Mexican Employers’ Association called on the U.S. to end the closure of rail crossings into Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, which started Monday.

The business group called the closures a sign “of the failure of migration policy.” Illegal crossings at the U.S. southwestern border topped 10,000 some days across the border in December, an abnormally high level.

“We energetically but respectfully call on the governments of Mexico and the United States to address the migration crisis which is affecting the flow of goods, given that this measure only damages the economies of both nations,” the association wrote in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border protection said Sunday the decision was made “in order to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody.”

U.S. officials said it was in response to migrants riding freight trains through Mexico, hopping off just before entering the U.S.

The Lukeville, Arizona border crossing is closed, as is a pedestrian entry in San Diego, California so that more officials can be assigned to the migrant influx.

Mexico receives much of the corn and soy products it needs to feed livestock by rail from the United States. Auto parts and automobiles also frequently are shipped by rail in Mexico.