USDA begins phased reopening of southern ports to Mexican cattle
The reopening is conditional on Mexico meeting milestones under a bilateral screwworm Joint Action Plan, starting with Douglas, Arizona; Santa Teresa and Columbus, New Mexico follow if the first reopening holds. Every animal crossing gets full USDA inspection for New World Screwworm, and the timeline can pause if risk rises — the closest confirmed case to Douglas was about 325 miles away as of the announcement.
Key facts
- USDA begins a phased, conditional reopening of southern livestock ports on 24 August 2026, starting with Douglas, Arizona, tied to New World Screwworm containment milestones.
- Every crossing gets full USDA inspection, and the timeline can pause if risk rises — Secretary Rollins framed the 30-day runway as the full window before the first reopening.
Douglas goes first, and the release notes it borders Sonora. USDA names Sonora and Chihuahua as the lowest-risk Mexican states for screwworm, citing their strong, well-established inspection programmes and their distance from southern Mexico, where most cases are concentrated. It adds that the two states have maintained a strong animal health infrastructure programme for many years. The department is blunt about the rest of the country: it has not been able to stop the spread, nor stop legal and illegal movement. The nearest active case to Douglas sits about 325 miles away and was detected on 22 July 2026, two days before the announcement. Secretary Brooke Rollins put the reopening at 30 days out, and USDA set the date at 24 August 2026.
The two New Mexico ports carry no date at all. USDA is only initiating the operational steps for Santa Teresa and Columbus, and APHIS will consider reopening them after it evaluates the success of the initial reopening and any changes to the risk assessment. Species wording is not consistent in the release: Douglas is described both as reopening to livestock trade and as opening to cattle trade, while live cattle, bison and horses are named only for the New Mexico ports. Check eligibility with APHIS before booking anything other than cattle. The pause language is broad, covering increased risk in Sonora or Chihuahua identified through post-opening audits or other observations, so a post-opening audit that finds increased risk is enough to pause the sequence.
Why it matters
This restarts a lane shut since May 2025, but on terms that push cost and paperwork to the exporter side. Anyone booking Mexican feeder cattle for September onward should treat the date as provisional and write contract terms that survive a re-closure.