After Relentless Effort, Tester Ensures Port of Raymond Will Remain Open 24 Hours a Day

Major announcement comes one day after meeting between Tester and Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner

(U.S. Senate) – After a relentless effort, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that the Port of Raymond in northeast Montana will remain open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

The announcement to keep the Port of Raymond open around-the-clock was made by Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner John Sanders just one day after his meeting with Tester on the status of the port.

“The decision from Customs and Border Protection is welcome news for farmers and ranchers who are already fighting to navigate their way through the President’s trade war,” Tester said. “Going forward, we need more transparency from this Administration as they propose policies that will hurt our rural economy and make it more difficult for folks to do business.”

Tester is calling on the agency to abandon its plan to cut hours of operation at the Ports of Scobey, Morgan, and Opheim.

Tester has repeatedly beat back proposals by Customs and Border Protection to cut hours of operation at Montana’s Ports of Entry. In 2016, after more than a year of advocacy, Tester successfully convinced Customs and Border Protection to scrap its plan to cut the hours of operation at the Port of Raymond.

The Port of Raymond is one of only three 24-hour ports of entry in Montana.