By Kirk Maltais
The Agriculture Department will take steps to gradually reopen the U.S.-Mexico border for the trade of cattle and other livestock following its closure in May due to disease concerns.
The plan will begin by opening the border starting on July 7 in Douglas, Ariz., the USDA said Monday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has investigated Mexico's efforts to combat New World Screwworm, the USDA said, a parasitic species of fly that lays its eggs in the open wounds of warm-blooded animals, most often livestock animals like cattle and pigs.
The USDA said it hasn't seen screwworm cases move further north in Mexico past the southern and central regions of the country since the border's closing.
After that port is opened, the USDA will open crossings in New Mexico and Texas through September. The agency notes that it will evaluate the status of the disease's spread after each port is reopened.
In May 2025, the USDA suspended imports of live cattle, bison, and equines from Mexico due to the spread of New World Screwworm. Since then the USDA and Mexico's governmental agencies have invested in facilities that are producing sterilized flies, which mitigate the reproduction of insects and curb the amount of eggs laid by New World Screwworm.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
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06-30-25 1741ET
