US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is announcing risk-based port re-openings for cattle, bison and equines from Mexico beginning as early as July 7, 2025. The US Department of Agriculture, following extensive collaboration between USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service experts and their counterparts in Mexico to increase New World Screwworm surveillance, detection and eradication efforts, are set to begin a phased reopening of the southern ports starting with Douglas, Ariz.

Progress has been made in several critical areas since the ports were closed on May 11, including resolution of challenges with conducting flights in Mexico that has allowed the USDA team to consistently conduct sterile NWS fly dispersal seven days each week and dispersal of more than 100 million flies each week. USDA sent five teams of APHIS staff to visit/observe and gain a deeper understanding of Mexico’s NWS response and share feedback. As of June 30, USDA has not seen a notable increase in reported NWS cases in Mexico, nor any northward movement of NWS over the past eight weeks.

“At USDA we are focused on fighting the New World Screwworm’s advancement in Mexico. We have made good progress with our counterparts in Mexico to increase vital pest surveillance efforts and have boosted sterile fly dispersal efforts. These quick actions by the Trump Administration have improved the conditions to allow the phased reopening of select ports on the Southern Border to livestock trade,” said Rollins. “We are continuing our posture of increased vigilance and will not rest until we are sure this devastating pest will not harm American ranchers.”

While the Douglas, Ariz., port presents the lowest risk based upon the geography of Sonora and a long history of effective collaboration between APHIS and Sonora on animal health issues, USDA intends to reopen additional ports in New Mexico, and if it is proven safe to do so, in Texas, over the coming weeks. Additional port openings will be based on APHIS’ continuous reevaluation of the number of cases and potential northward movement of NWS, Mexico’s continued efforts to curb illegal animal movements, and implementation of further inspection and treatment protocols.

The port reopening timeline: July 7 for Douglas, Ariz., July 14 for Columbus, N.M., July 21 for Santa Teresa, N.N., Aug. 18 for Del Rio, Texas, and Sept. 15 for Laredo, Texas. After each opening, USDA will evaluate to ensure no adverse effects arise.

USDA is working with Mexico’s National Department of Health, Food Safety and Food Quality on outreach, education and training efforts to raise awareness and put producers on high alert about NWS, along with utilizing their central laboratory for diagnosing cases. While Mexico has made progress on animal movement controls and surveillance, additional progress is necessary to help ensure the remaining US ports reopen. Enhanced animal movement controls to stem illegal animal movements from the south, along with surveillance and NWS risk mitigations beyond check points will be critical in pushing back NWS. APHIS technical teams continue to engage with SENASICA to improve the overall NWS posture in Mexico.

Mexico will also begin renovation of its sterile fruit fly facility in Metapa, with renovation expected to be completed by July 2026. Renovation of this facility will allow for production of between 60-100 million sterile NWS flies each week. This is a step toward reaching the goal of producing the estimated 400-500 million flies each week needed to re-establish the NWS barrier at the Darien Gap.

To ensure that USDA safely proceeds with allowing for movement of animals across the border, only cattle and bison, born and raised in Sonora or Chihuahua, or that are treated according to cattle and bison NWS protocol when entering these states will be eligible for import.

Reopening the Del Rio and Colombia Bridge ports in August and September, respectively, will be contingent on Coahuila and Nuevo Leon adopting the same NWS protocols for cattle and bison as those now required of Sonora and Chihuahua for cattle or bison entering those states.

In May 2025, USDA suspended imports of live cattle, bison and equines from Mexico into the United States due to the continued and rapid northward spread of NWS. During the weeks of June 2 and June 16, teams of APHIS experts conducted on-site assessments of Mexico’s NWS response efforts to fully reassess the risk of NWS incursions to the United States posed by importation of Mexican cattle across our southern border.

Source: USDA