The revocation of B1 visas for Mexican truck drivers has once again created a barrier to cross-border transportation with the United States. What began with drivers denouncing the cancellation of their visas for alleged cabotage operations escalated in early September to a blockade of the Mexicali-Calexico border crossing as they demanded clarity on the criteria being applied.
The protest lasted four days and ended after authorities and operators reached an agreement to establish working groups and review the cases . Nearly two weeks after the truckers cleared the crossing, operations have returned to normal, but the underlying issue that sparked the protest remains unresolved.
The discussion has now moved from the border crossing to the review of cases. Around 400 to 500 visas are being analyzed to determine if the criteria used by U.S. authorities were correct, particularly in those cases where carriers and operators differ from what is being considered cabotage, according to Israel Delgado, vice president of the Binational Freight Transport Council.
“Things have been calmer lately, particularly at the Calexico-Mexicali border crossing, and what they are doing is continuing the working groups,” Delgado said.
At the heart of the discussion is cabotage , understood in the trucking industry as the movement of cargo between two points within the United States. The disagreement arises in cases where carriers and operators maintain that their activities do not fall under this practice, while the criteria applied by U.S. authorities have resulted in the revocation of their permits.
“What they are doing is continuing the working groups so that they can meet at a later date with the United States Consulate and analyze whether or not the criteria used are grounds for cancellation,” Delgado explained.
He specified that there are cases in which the criteria of carriers and operators differ from what is considered cabotage , so the working groups are looking to review whether the causes that led to the withdrawal of visas actually correspond to this type of operation.
From protest to review
The follow-up has already begun to focus on individual cases. The General Secretariat of the Government of Baja California reported that 126 operators affected by alleged cabotage have been interviewed, as part of addressing their situation following the revocation of their commercial visas.
During one of the working sessions, Rocío Vázquez Álvarez, head consul of Mexico in Calexico and representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) , confirmed the 126 interviews , as well as the direct attention to the affected operators.
As part of the follow-up, Kurt Honold Morales, Secretary of Economy and Innovation of Baja California , announced the establishment of regional working groups along the border between Mexico and the United States, with the aim of providing support to carriers, streamlining procedures and providing legal certainty.
Behind this situation lies a larger problem. Information previously provided to T21 indicates that between April 2025 and April 2026, more than 25,000 visas were revoked from trucking operators , of which nearly 4,000 were in Baja California, at the Tijuana, Mexicali, and San Luis border crossings.
The discontent escalated in early September. Operators consulted by T21 at the time warned that some were avoiding crossing into the United States for fear of losing their visas , even though they assured that their operations were legal.
After the operators removed the blockade, tensions at the border eased.
“I believe there will be another working meeting with the American consulate in the coming days,” Delgado said.
Almost two weeks after that protest, trucks are circulating again through the crossing, but the reason that led the operators to stop it remains undefined: to clearly establish what operations are considered cabotage and whether that criterion justified the withdrawal of the visas that are now under review.
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