Current wait
Passenger
Light
5min
Reported 34 min ago by CBP
Wait times could not be loaded
Check your connection and try again.
Latest official wait for Columbus
Other facilities (0)
Mexico-bound: not reported
This site doesn't show Mexico-bound waits. The numbers on this page cover traffic entering the U.S., reported by CBP.
More on where these numbers come from: how border wait times work.
Feed-check details
CBP feed checked · Updates roughly hourly
Crossing facts
- U.S.-bound hours, cars and pedestrians
- 24 hours (CBP)
- U.S.-bound hours, cargo
- 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday
- Lanes reported
- car General; pedestrian General
- Toll
- no schedule located — never assume free
- Contacts
- CBP 575-531-2686; Mexican customs +52 656-227-1206
About this crossing
Columbus links Columbus, New Mexico — about 30 miles south of Deming on NM 11 — with Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua. Cars and pedestrians cross 24 hours a day; cargo runs weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed weekends. Travellers can park on the Columbus side and walk across.
Livestock
The 2019 replacement port includes livestock docks — but animal shipments run on their own fast-moving federal rules. As of APHIS's late-August 2026 notice, Columbus's reopening for cattle and bison imports from Mexico was still to be determined. Verify with APHIS before any shipment.
The port
GSA completed the replacement port in 2019: three car lanes, one commercial lane, two pedestrian lanes, livestock docks and hazardous- material containment.
Busy times
In 2025 the Columbus customs port — whose federal counts also include Antelope Wells — handled about 438,000 US-bound personal vehicles and 204,000 pedestrians (port-level BTS data). August was the busiest driving month.
Quick answers
Is Columbus open 24 hours?
For cars and pedestrians, yes. Cargo keeps weekday business hours — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed weekends — and individual lanes can close within the port's schedule, so check the live state above.
Can I walk across at Columbus?
Yes — pedestrians cross 24 hours a day, and travellers can park in Columbus and walk over to Puerto Palomas. For the walk back into Mexico, ANAM publishes customs hours for Puerto Palomas but no southbound wait figure, so plan without one.
Does Columbus have SENTRI or Ready Lane?
CBP's record carries a Ready field for cars (closed at the 29 August 2026 check) and no SENTRI field. Go by the live lane state above; the region's SENTRI readings are published in El Paso.