SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Construction for the proposed Otay Mesa II Port of Entry, which is already two years behind schedule on the U.S. side of border, has hit another snag: No money for U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel.
Joaquín Luken, executive director of the Smart Border Coalition, says until a budget is finalized and money allocated for CBP officers to work at the crossing, construction can’t get started.
The new port of entry was slated to open at the end of this month, but money and design issues have prevented the start of construction on the U.S. side of the border.
On the Mexico side, however, the facility is almost done, and Baja California officials have said they’ll be ready to go as planned.
They have been pursuing an idea to allow empty commercial trucks to travel in a southbound direction only.
When it opens, the port of entry is supposed to be a toll crossing in both directions.
Mexican officials believe the southbound access would allow them to recoup some of their investments sooner.
But Luken says although the idea is intriguing, it’s not that simple because the tolls paid would cover the cost of the construction and not for personnel.
“Using the port of entry one way only could work, but you also have to remember, you still need agents on the American side, it’s not just opening the crossing, some CBP officers are required and would likely have to be transferred from other ports of entry, but then you’re leaving others one person short.”
Luken fears the funding issue could further delay the port of entry’s opening. It’s now not slated to open until 2027.
“Until the issue of how to pay for personnel that will be in charge of the U.S. side of the crossing, there will be no advances on this project,” he said. “We’ve made strides in the design portion of the project, but we can’t move 100 percent forward without Congress appropriating funds for agents who will be operating the crossing.”
The crossing on the U.S. side of the border is a joint venture between the California Department of Transportation and the San Diego Association of Governments.
Neither agency has agreed to speak about the lack of funding for CBP personnel at the planned Otay Mesa II facility.
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