Border crossing shut down after ‘large and unruly group’ forms in Mexico

U.S. authorities closed an international border bridge in El Paso, Texas, early Monday in response to Central American and Cuban migrants protesting on the Mexican side of the border.

The protesters in Ciudad Juárez were chanting “vamos a cruzar” — “we are going to cross” — before Customs and Border Protection officials closed the bridge about 2 a.m., reported CNN.

{mosads}The decision to close the bridge came as “a large and unruly group formed on the Mexican side,” according to CBP spokesman Roger Maier.

Local TV station KTSM reported the group was comprised of about 250 Cuban and Salvadoran migrants; Ciudad Juarez newspaper El Diario reported the group was comprised of Cubans and Hondurans.

The Mexican National Guard deployed troops to the area, but they did not engage the protesters, according to El Diario.

CBP closed all lanes of traffic on the Paso del Norte Bridge, and reopened pedestrian lanes at 5:25 a.m., Meier said in an email.

According to CBP, as of 2 p.m. local time, private vehicle crossings to El Paso are subject to a 35-minute delay.

The Paso del Norte Bridge is the second-busiest pedestrian and personal vehicle crossing on the U.S.-Mexico border, after the San Ysidro border crossing that links San Diego and Tijuana.