Department of Homeland Security officials said the decision to halt all incoming traffic from Mexico into San Diego, Calif., at the nation’s largest border crossing overnight was based on reports some migrants from Central America planned to storm through one of its ports.
“Late last night, we started to get info about an incursion at our ports of entry, attempting to run by our ports of entry,” a senior DHS official told reporters during a call Monday afternoon.
“The information came from multiple sources, including individuals in the Mexican government,” the official said.
Both governments enhanced security, adding more personnel to the area, including on the Mexican side.
Earlier this morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down all vehicular traffic flowing north from Mexico into California at the country’s busiest border crossing and diverted staff to help bulk up the infrastructure and security there, in anticipation of the arrival of thousands of migrants traveling in caravans from Central America.
[Read more: Troops land at border, lay razor wire, ready tent cities, anger narco gangs]
The port’s 26 passenger lanes and 22 pedestrian lanes see more traffic than any in the entire Western Hemisphere. As of mid-Monday, 15 of the port’s vehicle lanes were open.
The San Ysidro port of entry, which processes 20,000 pedestrians and 70,000 vehicles moving from Tijuana to San Diego each day, closed all passenger and commercial lanes and one of its two pedestrian crossings.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have temporarily suspended vehicle processing for northbound travelers at the San Ysidro port of entry Monday morning to position additional port hardening materials,” CBP, the federal agency that oversees all port activity, said in a statement issued Monday.
Last week, CBP shut down a few lanes at San Ysidro and the nearby Otay Mesa port to install and pre-position similar blockades.
