Biden administration closes down Arizona port to redeploy agents amid border surge

In a poignant sign of the toll of the Biden-era illegal immigration crisis, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is shutting down a port of entry in Arizona so it can redeploy agents to help process illegal border crossers elsewhere.

CBP announced late Friday the indefinite closure of the vehicle and pedestrian border crossing in Lukeville, Ariz.

"Beginning on Monday, December 4, CBP’s Office of Field Operations will temporarily suspend operations in Lukeville, Arizona, in order to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody," the agency announced. "Both northbound and southbound pedestrian and vehicle traffic at Lukeville Port of Entry will be suspended until further notice."

The agency acknowledged the flood of millions of illegal immigrants since Joe Biden became president and loosened border protections, which emboldened mass human trafficking by drug cartels, was to blame. 

“In response to increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals," the agency said. "CBP is surging all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants. CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation. 

CBP has apprehended more than 5.8 million illegal crossers from 160 countries since Biden took office, an unprecedented flood that has overwhelmed Border Patrol agents, reduced the ability of authorities to screen dangerous entrants and caused hardships in cities as far away from the border as New York.

About 309,000 illegal immigrants crossed or were encountered at the southern border in October, the second highest month in history.

Former House immigration expert Nolan Rappaport explained in an Op-Ed on Friday in The Hill newspaper why the cartels have pushed illegal immigrants toward the southern U.S. border with Mexico.

"The Biden administration has bypassed the immigrant and nonimmigrant visa provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), choosing instead to catch and release most of the illegal crossers the Border Patrol apprehended," he wrote.