EL PASO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection reminds the public that travel restrictions announced in March and extended on April 20 remain in place as the Mother’s Day holiday approaches.
To determine if travel is essential vs. non-essential, please reference the Federal Register Notice. Travel related to tourism or visiting friends or relatives is currently deemed non-essential.
Historically the Mother’s Day holiday is one of the busiest at the El Paso ports of entry. CBP officers and agriculture specialists continue securing the borders, facilitating trade and processing essential travel.
“During Mother’s Day, our CBP agriculture specialists historically experience an increase in the number of floral imports arriving at our surrounding ports,” said CBP El Paso Director of Field Operations Hector Mancha. “While we anticipate lower traffic volumes than previous years, we remind travelers that our frontline personnel remain vigilant to ensure agricultural items are free from insects, pests or disease. While anti-terrorism is our primary mission, our frontline personnel remain steadfast to identify anyone bringing anything that may cause harm to the United States.”
With the current travel restrictions in place, CBP would like to offer helpful tips for those crossing the border on essential travel.
Do not pack a pest. CBP recommends that people traveling from foreign, consult the CBP Info Center section on the CBP website before they travel.
As always they should also always declare all items they’ve acquired abroad to CBP officers to avoid civil or criminal penalties and reduce the risk of introducing pests and disease to the U.S. For more information on prohibited/restricted items, visit CBP’s Know Before You Go website.
Essential only travelers can monitor wait times by visiting CBP’s Border Wait Time (BWT) web page or download the BWT app via Google Play or the Apple App Store.