LUKEVILLE, Ariz. (Border Report) — Valerie Simondi and her husband spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Puerto Peñasco on the Gulf of Mexico, a place they often visit.
Simondi and her family live in Ajo, Arizona, about 40 miles north of the border.
Coming back to the U.S. on Monday was an experience for which they weren’t ready.
“We got stuck for almost three hours just waiting to cross the border,” said Simondi.
Simondi, like many others, got caught in long lines at the Lukeville Port of Entry.
On that day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced “reduced vehicle processing capacity.”
The agency says it deployed many of its officers assigned to the port of entry to help Border Patrol agents apprehend and process asylum-seeking migrants along the southern border.
On Wednesday, a federal source in Arizona confirmed to Border Report that migrants apprehended in the Tucson Sector are being bused to El Paso, Texas, for processing and expedited removal.
CBP has stated that people can expect delays at this border crossing because it has less staff to work the gates and conduct inspections.
“It would’ve been nice to have a little warning,” said Simondi.
She said the unexpected wait was difficult for many people for various reasons.
“A lot of people were leaving to go to the bathroom, and you had to pay a dollar because there were spots alongside the road, they were outhouses, outbuildings whatever, and they charged you a dollar,” she said.
Simondi says she understands why CBP has moved the officers from the port of entry to help the Border Patrol.
“I guess it needed to be done,” she said.
A worker at a duty-free shop next to the port of entry said he worried the long delays would keep people from coming over the border to shop, especially with the holiday season upon them.
]Maria, another commuter who says she crosses the border about once a week to go shopping and visit family, said it would be impractical to travel 160 miles to the east where the nearest port of entry sits along the border.
She believes long lines will only happen on weekends when most people travel across the border.
“I’m only going to visit the U.S. if it’s absolutely necessary, otherwise, I’m going to stay home,” she said in Spanish.
CBP says people can expect longer wait times for the foreseeable future.
The Lukeville Port of Entry will remain open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Border Report’s Julian Resendiz contributed to this story.
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