HIDALGO, Texas — Border crossings are preparing for a large influx of people during Holy Week, a week-long holiday in Mexico between Palm Sunday and Easter. Lines at the Hidalgo Port of Entry will likely double by the weekend as people visit Texas during the week off.
“You’re looking at a good 40% increase over our normal traffic,” said Francisco Rodriguez, the public affairs liaison for the Hidalgo Port of Entry. “A lot of visitors come across there. Now, they’re not locals. They’re going to come here to visit. So, it’s quite a big push in traffic.”
The border crossing will grow along with the lines because more lanes will be added to process visitors.
“A typical day those bridges only have two processing stations for people requesting travel permits, so for Holy Week we’ll have five total,” Rodriguez said.
Wait times will be long because inspections will continue to be thorough.
“Those enforcement inspections are not going to be relaxed for any holiday season,” Rodriguez said. “Our priority is to ensure that people are making entry are doing it lawfully and there’s no prohibited item or any narcotics involved in those entries.”
That includes restrictions on eggs. No fresh ones are allowed. Cascarones, an Easter favorite, will be limited to 12 according to Customs and Border Protection.
“A lot of people bring them in, eggshells,” Rodriquez said. “There are certain restrictions on those.”
Visit San Antonio said Holy Week is considered a third-week extension of Spring Break for San Antonio and brings economic benefits to the city. It said in a statement: “The increased visitation enhances our city’s occupancy as well as the shopping side of our destination, restaurants and merchants in the main malls.”
It may be a long wait for visitors to cross, but worth the time since many families have had to outwait the pandemic to return to their holiday travel traditions.