Mexican authorities have resurrected additional security checkpoints for U.S.-bound drivers approaching the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana during the busy holiday travel season — a move that has many border commuters worried about increased traffic headaches.
The new inspection point, set up on Thanksgiving Day in the SENTRI lanes, is part of a pilot program by Tijuana officials meant to add an extra layer of security and deter unauthorized travelers before drivers reach the international boundary line. At the boundary line is where U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents then, as they have for some years now, ask drivers to show their documents before they approach the official inspection booth.
The hope — as was the first time around — is that CBP will decide that the Mexican inspections are robust enough to replace CBP’s first line of officers. Those U.S. officers could then be deployed to additional inspection booths at the port of entry, therefore reducing wait times. Staffing issues have long prevented all inspection lanes from being staffed at the port of entry.
Tijuana’s secretary of economic development, Pedro Montejo Peterson, said that for the plan to work, there must be positive results from the program and proof that binational coordination works. Authorities said they chose to target the faster SENTRI lanes first because that is where unauthorized vehicles often try to reach the U.S.
“It’s not going to be automatic,” he said last week. “It’s up to us to do our part, to produce the results that are expected, and through that to negotiate that more lanes can be opened.”
CBP did not respond to questions about whether this would be an option. A spokesperson referred questions about operations to the Mexican government.
Instead, officials said that the San Diego field office “is committed to facilitating legitimate trade and travel as safely, securely, and efficiently as possible,” and that the agency is “constantly assessing its resources and adjusting its operations to best serve communities, all while upholding its critical national security mission through the interdiction of dangerous narcotics, illicit contraband, and more.”
On Monday morning, as commuters got back to their post-Thanksgiving weekend routines, drivers passed the checkpoint tent staffed with Tijuana police and the Mexican National Guard. The officers were not seen asking for any documentation and only monitored the vehicles passing by. Only immigration officers can ask for documentation to prove travelers can be in Mexico legally.
Montejo Peterson said that as part of the program, the city will coordinate with the National Guard and the National Institute of Migration so they can assist if “suspicious vehicles” are detected.
CBP officers also continued to work the first level of inspection along the boundary line, as usual.
The wait times around 11 a.m. were as expected. But over the weekend, people on social media groups reported delays.
“We are not going to hinder traffic,” said Montejo Peterson. “On the contrary, all the efforts that are being made in this administration are precisely to streamline crossings.”
For border commuters, the pilot program was déjà vu. In late 2022, similar checkpoints were placed on the Ready Lane and SENTRI vehicular lanes at the San Ysidro crossing in a program that lasted four months.
Angry drivers reported longer-than-expected wait times on the first day. Around that time, CBP briefly removed one of the initial layers of inspection on the SENTRI lanes, but agents eventually returned to it.
Mexican officials said that from November 2022 to March 2023, when the program was in effect, unauthorized vehicle crossings in the frequent traveler lanes were reduced by 60 percent. But officials also credited other factors, such as the launch of the required CBP app for asylum seekers to make their appointments.
Mexican officials claimed at the time that CBP officials were able to open an average of three additional lanes at the port of entry as a result.
Montejo Peterson acknowledged that December will be a challenging month, since it’s one of the busiest for border crossings. He added that the city will assess the results this week and that the plan is to have another checkpoint at San Ysidro and one more at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
