Border Patrol in El Paso reopens checkpoints

The U.S. Border Patrol’s checkpoints in the El Paso area have all reopened and are operating at full capacity after being temporarily shut down more than four months ago, the agency announced Monday.

Some of the checkpoints were temporarily closed in March after Border Patrol said it needed to pull agents from those posts to help process, detain and care for the surge of undocumented immigrants who surrendered to or were apprehended by agents.

“While the El Paso Sector is still experiencing significantly higher traffic in our area, the funding for additional infrastructure, along with personnel support from government agencies throughout the country has allowed a significant number of agents to return to their primary assignments, to include immigration checkpoints,” a statement from the agency states.

The El Paso sector covers more than 260 miles of the international boundary and encompasses El Paso and Hudspeth counties, as well as all of New Mexico.

The number of people who were apprehended by or surrendered to federal immigration officials on the U.S.-Mexico border dipped by nearly 30% from June to July, the Department of Homeland Security announced last month.