Tornillo Port of Entry
Tornillo Port of Entry
Location
CountryUnited States
Location1400 Lower Island Rd. (FM 3380)
Tornillo, Texas 79853
(Tornillo-Guadalupe Bridge)
Coordinates31°25′58″N 106°08′53″W / 31.432780°N 106.148058°W / 31.432780; -106.148058
Details
Opened2014
Phone(915) 765-2800
Hours6:00 AM-10:00 PM
Exit PortGuadalupe
Statistics
2011 Cars(not open)
2011 Trucks(not open)
Pedestrians(not open)
Website
https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/tornillo-texas-2404

The Marcelino Serna Port of Entry (formerly the Tornillo Port of Entry) is a crossing of the United States–Mexico border. It opened on November 17, 2014, replacing the nearby Fabens Port of Entry. The crossing is built around the Tornillo–Guadalupe International Bridge about 1,800 feet (550 m) west of the previous two-lane Fabens–Caseta International Bridge and can accommodate vehicular, pedestrian, and commercial traffic.[1] The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility at the crossing served as the site for the Tornillo tent city, which housed as many as 2,800 detained migrant youths from June 2018 to January 2019. As of July 2019, a 2,500-bed holding facility for adult migrants is under construction at the site.

History

Construction of the Port of Entry began in July 2011,[2] and the facilities were ready at the end of 2013. However, the Mexican side of the crossing suffered delays due to lack of funding; construction on the Mexican side of the new bridge finally began in January 2014, with customs inspection facilities and road infrastructure still pending.[3][4]

The port was renamed the Marcelino Serna Port of Entry in April 2017.[5] Marcelino Serna was an undocumented Mexican immigrant who later became one of the most decorated Texan veterans of World War I.[5]

Detention facilities

Tornillo youth detention facility, 2018–2019

Tornillo tent city was built within the facilities in June 2018 to house immigrant children. It was operated by BCFS on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement. Nearly 6,200 minors cycled through the facility within the seven months it operated.[6]

Tornillo adult detention facility

In July 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection began construction on a new holding facility designed to hold 2,500 adult immigrants on the site. CBP expects the facility, which will be a "large, soft-sided structure" to begin operations in July or August 2019.[7] On July 17, the deployment of 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the Tornillo and Donna detention facilities was announced.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Tornillo - Guadalupe Land Port of Entry". Turner Construction Company. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  2. ^ "GSA Launches Construction of Tornillo-Guadalupe Port of Entry". GSA News Release. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  3. ^ Figueroa, Lorena (10 November 2013). "Tornillo-Guadalupe crossing: Construction on Mexican side set to begin next year". The El Paso Times. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  4. ^ Figueroa, Lorena (13 January 2014). "Delayed Tornillo-Guadalupe international bridge to be done by summer". The El Paso Times. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  5. ^ a b Iraheta, Adria. "Tornillo Port of Entry officially renamed after local war hero Marcelino Serna". KFOX. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  6. ^ Sacchetti, Maria (January 11, 2019). "Trump administration removes all migrant teens from giant Tornillo tent camp". Washington Post.
  7. ^ Moore, Robert (2019-07-13). "Tornillo will reopen as a migrant detention center, this time for up to 2,500 adults". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  8. ^ "1,000 Texas Guard troops being deployed to migrant facilities at Tornillo, Donna". KVIA. Associated Press. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2019-07-18.

See also


Categories