Though pandemic restrictions remain in place, crossings at Arizona border ports continue to steadily increase.
Over a year ago, restrictions went into effect for northbound border crossers at ports on the U.S.-Mexico border. They’ve been extended every month since, most recently through the end of May. But at Arizona’s major ports, the number of vehicle passengers and pedestrians has ticked steadily upward since bottoming out last spring, according to the most recent federal data.
Despite those increases, numbers for the first quarter of 2021 remain well below historic averages. Passengers are nearly 60% of a pre-pandemic five-year average, and pedestrian crossings are a little over 50%. Truck crossings, which aren’t impacted by the restrictions, are actually up about 13%.
Mexico has enforced few restrictions for southbound crossers, and U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents returning to the United States is considered essential travel, meaning that Mexican nationals have been the most heavily impacted by the rules.
