Pork product seizures at El Paso region ports of entry skyrocketed over the last year, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
In 2022, 1,853 pork product items were seized, a 21% increase from the 1,528 pork product items caught by border patrol agents in 2021, according to CBP data provided to The Dallas Express. Already in 2023, 820 pork products have been seized.
The statistics include numbers from a port in West Texas, four bridges, and three ports of entry in New Mexico.
While pork products are commercially shipped to the U.S. from Mexico, citizens bringing pork into the U.S. is illegal.
The fine for smuggling pork products, including bologna, is typically $300. If it is a commercial quantity or the person is a repeat offender, the fines will be higher. The seized product is burned.
Among the notable seizures in 2022 is a U.S. citizen who allegedly attempted to sneak in 484 pounds of Mexican bologna through an international bridge in the El Paso area in October. The meat was stashed in a toolbox in the truck bed under a blanket.
Border agents found the bologna, seized it, and the driver received a civil penalty of $1,000.
In August, another U.S. citizen was caught allegedly trying to smuggle 90 pounds of bologna and 4,600 Tramadol pills under the seats of her car at an El Paso-area port of entry.
The individual was issued a civil penalty, and the bologna and medication were seized.
In January 2022, 243 pounds of bologna were seized in two different instances, as reported by The Dallas Express.
A man was allegedly caught smuggling 55 pounds of bologna and told CBP agents that he resells them in the U.S. “for almost double the price he pays for them in Mexico,” according to a press release.
In the other instance, a woman was caught allegedly attempting to smuggle 188 pounds of bologna hidden under a back seat mixed in with her luggage.
Both individuals were issued civil penalties of $1,000.
“Pork products have the potential to introduce foreign animal diseases that can have devastating effects to the U.S. economy and to our agriculture industry,” said Director Field Operations Hector A. Mancha in a January press release announcing the two seizures.
“We ask travelers to declare any items acquired abroad so we can prevent the introduction of potentially harmful products,” added Mancha.
The pork industry lobbied for increased funding from the CBP to better search for pork products that can carry diseases that threaten the industry.
“The big concern that we have is transmission of a foreign animal disease,” Maria Zieba, the National Pork Producers Council vice president of international affairs, told the El Paso Times. “African swine fever is a disease that has a really high mortality rate in swine.”
