see also: in October 2007 News Releases:   Cocaine Smuggler Tries To Trick El Paso CBP Officers by Hiding Drugs in Car Body   Border Patrol Agents in Texas Seize Marijuana Worth $1 Million Hidden Under Watermelons   Fingerprint Check Allows Border Patrol to Arrest Murder Suspect   Border Patrol Texas Task Force Seizes 500 Pounds of Marijuana   CBP Officers at Mail Facility Find Marijuana in Cement Statues, Opium   Tecate, Calif. Cargo Processing Port to Resume Operations Wednesday Morning   CBP at Newark Airport Discovers Man with Fraudulent Documents, False Claim to U.S. Citizenship ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Lukeville, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be looking at new traffic patterns at the Lukeville, Ariz. port of entry to more effectively and efficiently screen additional traffic during peak travel days while easing the process for larger vehicles.

Every Sunday and Monday, beginning this weekend, all recreational vehicles and vehicles towing trailers will be directed into the commercial facility, which will afford them more room, making it easier for them to navigate through the port of entry. Passenger vehicles will continue to use the normal lanes. Mexican officials will be separating and directing traffic into the appropriate lane prior to entering the port of entry.

“We have a dual mission of law enforcement and facilitation at the ports of entry,” said David Higgerson, operations director in Arizona. “And while we won’t sacrifice our enforcement operations, we are continually looking at ways of improving our ability to facilitate legitimate international travel.”

CBP, working with its counterparts in Mexico, decided on this pilot program to increase their ability to screen and process more vehicles and people during peak travel days and times, which typically occur between noon and 7 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays.

To ease their screening and entry into the United States, travelers also are advised to be prepared by having all documents ready before approaching an officer, answer all questions truthfully, and declaring everything acquired while in Mexico. Travelers are also advised to plan their trips around the peak travel days and times.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of the nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.