Mexico Trucker Protest Heightens US Visa Dispute
Trucking industry leaders in Mexico are intensifying calls for U.S. officials to clarify how B-1 visa rules are being enforced against cross-border truck drivers, warning that continued uncertainty could disrupt freight flows between Mexico and the United States.
Visa revocations have become a flashpoint for truckers operating in the border region. The dispute reached a boiling point Thursday when commercial traffic was blocked at the Mexicali, Mexico-Calexico East border crossing in protest.
Alfonso Millán Chávez, the CANACAR delegate for Tijuana, Tecate and Playas de Rosarito, said the organization and other business groups are seeking meetings with U.S. and Mexican officials to establish clearer protocols governing visa actions tied to alleged cabotage. He noted that disagreements often arise over what constitutes a prohibited domestic movement in the U.S., specifically regarding the handling of empty trailers.
“Sometimes we have had problems with the interpretation, for example with an empty trailer,” Millán said according to El Sol de Tijuana. “The empty trailer is there to be loaded with merchandise, and some officers interpret the empty trailer as merchandise.”
Related: Nuevo León Governor Pushes Border Boom Amid Rising Freight Traffic
CANACAR seeks statistics and clarity
The National Chamber of Freight Transportation has pushed for the U.S. government to provide reliable statistics on visa losses. Millán said the chamber wants protocols established for visa actions involving suspected cabotage violations.
CANACAR estimates more than 25,000 visas have been revoked from commercial drivers along Mexico’s northern border, including potentially 4,000 in the Tijuana area. These figures are based on reports from members and social media rather than official U.S. government data. The organization has sought information directly from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico and the State Department.
Millán has urged drivers not to stage similar blockades in neighboring Tijuana, warning that shutting down additional border crossings would increase the economic impact. He emphasized that CANACAR has consistently favored dialogue over actions that interrupt cross-border commerce and called for Mexico’s Interior Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene with U.S. authorities.
Ripple effects on supply chains
The growing concern is not limited to Baja California. Israel Delgado, CANACAR’s vice president for Mexico’s northwest region, has warned that visa losses could affect time-sensitive shipments including medical products, technology, food and perishables moving from Mexico into the U.S.
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Jose Luis Contreras Valenzuela, president of the Association of Industrialists of Mesa de Otay, said the situation has contributed to delays in incoming supplies and deliveries of finished products. Federico Serrano Bañuelos, president of Index Zona Costa, said companies that outsource transportation services are particularly exposed.
Business groups are seeking to raise the issue to Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for diplomatic discussions with U.S. officials.
Extended hours for empty trucks at Laredo
In a separate development, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced a 90-day program extending weekday operating hours for empty tractors and trailers at the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge in Laredo, Texas.
Port of Laredo, in coordination with Nuevo León’s Border Zone Development Corporation, will begin the program Monday, Sept. 14. Under the new schedule, weekday operations for empty trucks and trailers will begin one hour earlier, at 7 a.m., and continue until midnight, Monday through Friday. Current weekday hours are 8 a.m. to midnight.
Related: 20 migrants found in tractor-trailer at Texas truck stop
The program is intended to alleviate morning northbound traffic congestion from Colombia, Nuevo León, to Laredo.
New logistics partnership in El Paso
Imperative Logistics has joined forces with El Paso-based RM Customhouse Brokers to expand its customs brokerage and cross-border capabilities along the U.S.-Mexico border. RM Customhouse Brokers, which dates back to 1948, provides customs brokerage, trade compliance, bonded warehousing and cross-border logistics services.
The El Paso operations combine customs clearance, storage and distribution services in the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez trade corridor. RM President and co-owner Elvia Miles Doyle said joining Imperative will allow the company to maintain existing customer relationships while providing access to a broader range of logistics services.
“El Paso is an important addition to our network and gives our customers another critical gateway for U.S.-Mexico trade,” Imperative Logistics CEO Dante Fornari said in a statement. Fornari noted that the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez region includes more than 330 maquiladora plants and handles nearly $150 billion in annual trade.
