US authorities start closing bridges with Mexico to contain surge in immigration

In a highly unusual move, the US authorities have shut down several bridges and ports along the border with Mexico to contain illegal migration.

On Monday (Dec 18), US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shut down a pair of railway bridges in Texas, closed another bridge for vehicles seeking entry into the US and reduced a third bridge to just one lane.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the move left thousands of migrants stuck on the border, but also disrupted cross-border activities ahead of the busy Christmas week.

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Mexican president locks horns with Texas governor

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a law giving the state’s police full authority to arrest and deport migrants seen crossing the border illegally.

The move prompted a sharp rebuke from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

He claimed that Texas had no jurisdiction in US federal matters.

Watch:US-Mexico border: Migrants risk death crossing treacherous Rio Grande River

The American Civil Liberties Union and Texas Civil Rights Project on Tuesday (Dec 19) also filed suit to challenge the constitutionality of the new law.

According to data from CBP, about 3,000 migrants had already been detained on Monday by the authorities at Eagle Pass, most from Venezuela, Honduras and Nicaragua.

According to officials, above 10,000 arrests are being made every day along the entire US-Mexico border in the month of December.

Immigration fuelling US population growth

Meanwhile, a separate report released by the US Census Bureau revealed that the surge in immigration was fuelling growth in the US population in a manner never seen in the last two decades.

The United States added 1.6 million people, more than two-thirds of which came from international migration, bringing the nation's population total to 334.9 million, the report said.

Population growth saw a decline in the pandemic era, induced by COVID-19 restrictions and the crackdown on cross-border movement. However, immigration bounced back last year to almost onemillion people.

This year too, the trend continued as 1.1 million immigrants entered the US territory, a record only seen in 2001 in the past.

According to William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution, the US population was projected to decline in absence of the immigration.

"The immigration piece is going to be the main source of growth in the future," Frey said.

(With inputs from agencies)