SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Security “filters” are back in operation at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on the Mexico side of the border.
Tijuana police officers and Mexican Customs agents began checking northbound vehicles earlier this week, asking passengers to prove they have the required documentation to cross into the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers also check northbound vehicles, but officials in Tijuana want the American officers removed and deployed to actual inspection booths, allowing for more lanes of traffic to open and, thus, improving crossing times.
“Let’s remind everyone it’s in operation now in San Ysidro on the Sentri lanes, but a similar filter will be in place in Otay Mesa with another one here in San Ysidro in the near future,” Tijuana Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz.
The mayor hopes to show CBP the filters work in preventing unlawful attempts to cross the border, negating the need to have CBP officers positioned away from inspection booths.
He says a private security firm will also be hired to help staff the filters.
In the past, CBP has been reluctant to consider the filters as a viable option.
The agency has said in the past that it’s always considering new methods to improve border crossings like San Ysidro, stating, “CBP’s San Ysidro Port of Entry is always in a continuous state of assessment, discussing and searching for the most effective ways to fully improve traffic flows and national security to the extent resources allow. This includes, when appropriate, leveraging the outstanding partnerships SYS has with local governments in Mexico.”
In November 2022, a similar filter was put in place, but it was removed a few days later.
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