The Lukeville Port of Entry is open after a monthlong closure due to a higher number of border crossings nearby. The Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector covers wide swaths of open, rugged and often remote desert in southern Arizona. 

John Modlin, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, says in the last part of 2023, the number of border apprehensions along this stretch was spiking. 

"Very end of December, we did start to see a decrease in traffic, but prior to that, we were seeing up to 19,000 entries a week, which, you know, is a much greater number than what we’re used to," he said. 

Modlin says agents here are also encountering more families, including some with young children, than they have in the past. The majority are trying to present to border officers to access their legal right to ask for asylum. 

And, while the number of people arriving did decrease over the holidays, Modlin anticipates it’ll pick up again in the coming days.