US Border Patrol Cracks Down on Egg Smugglers Amid Soaring Prices

United States Customs and Border Protection officers have been intercepting egg smugglers at a higher-than-normal rate.

Due to a massive egg shortage in the United States, linked to the rise in bird flu cases at farms nationwide, border agents have seen an increase in people attempting to bring eggs across the border — often cracking under pressure along the way — particularly at the country’s southern border with Mexico.

According to a news release from the agency, more than 90 people attempted to bring eggs across the border in the El Paso area in January alone, redefining the notion of free-range eggs. Sidney Aki, director of field operations for the San Diego office, posted on X that the office “has noticed an increase in the number of eggs intercepted at our ports of entry” recently.

The agency reports a 29% rise in attempts to bring eggs — a banned item alongside poultry, meat, vegetables, and fruit — into the U.S. from Mexico between October 2024 and February 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. “As a reminder, raw eggs are prohibited entry from Mexico into the U.S.,” Aki states. “CBP encourages travelers to declare all agriculture items to avoid penalties.”

While most cases involve residents trying to avoid high egg prices in the U.S. by purchasing cheaper options in Mexico, some individuals may knowingly bypass regulations and smuggle the eggs across the border.

Penalties for failure to declare can be steep, reaching up to $10,000 depending on the circumstances. Non-commercial civil penalties for a first-time offense can be as high as $1,000.

In January, CBP agricultural specialists in El Paso issued 16 civil penalties totaling nearly $4,000, all linked to smuggling prohibited agricultural and food products, including raw eggs. “Importation of raw/fresh eggs into the United States is generally prohibited due to concerns about diseases such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and Virulent Newcastle disease (ND),” the agency states. “Travelers are prohibited from bringing in fresh eggs, raw chicken, unprocessed avian products, and live birds into the United States.”

As the avian flu epidemic continues to devastate chicken populations, American farms are losing significant numbers of birds. A report from the University of Minnesota indicates that more than 156 million birds have been lost since the outbreak began in 2022. Bernt Nelson, an economist for the Farm Bureau, says that 43 million birds were lost in January and February of this year alone — nearly 25% of all birds affected by the outbreak.

The decline in chickens has driven up egg prices due to supply-and-demand pressures. In an effort to combat the shortage, the U.S. and Turkey have announced a plan to import over 16,000 tons of eggs from Turkey through July. Unlike the eggs being smuggled across the border, these government-sanctioned imports are legally approved to help stabilize the American market.