SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — PedWest, the popular pedestrian crossing at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, is slated to close yet again on Saturday morning.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the officers who work at the facility will be moved to the field to assist Border Patrol agents with the apprehension of migrants entering the U.S. along the southern border.
This is the second time CBP has chosen to close PedWest this year.
It had reopened in January after being closed throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
But in September, it was shut down so it could be used as a processing center for migrants seeking asylum.
On Nov. 16, it opened again to northbound commuters from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
“The U.S. is continuing to see increased levels of migrant encounters at the southwest border fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals and encourage migration,” CBP said in a statement.
The same statement stated CBP will use available resources “to expeditiously and safely process migrants and that it will “maximize consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the United States.”
For the immediate future, while Ped West is closed, CBP says it will open as many “lines as possible” at the other pedestrian crossing on the east side of the port of entry.
“It’s a shame they’re about to close this and deny Americans the ability to get back into the country promptly,” said commuter Chad Baase. “
Baase says like many others, he lives in Tijuana but crosses the border almost daily to work in San Diego.
He’s not looking forward to crossing the border on the other side of the crossing.
“It turns a 15-minute trip into maybe an hour and a half to two hours, so a lot of people are going to be late for work the following day and days afterward, some people may even quit their jobs because of the border line.”
San Diego Congressman Juan Vargas said in a statement that closing PedWest is a “gut punch to the businesses that just celebrated its reopening three weeks ago.”
Vargas said he is asking Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to keep CBP from moving the officers out of PedWest and closing the facility.
“The closure of PedWest and the expected increase in wait times will severely impact our local communities and economy, particularly as businesses work to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision must be reversed immediately,” he said.
Baase agreed with Vargas.
“It’s very much a punch in the gut because they’re denying Americans and people in general who have been preapproved for access to get to their jobs, to get to their families or to get to wherever they have to get to in the San Diego area.”
Across the street from the facility is a large outlet mall, and most of the shoppers come from Mexico and use PedWest to cross.
The manager of a shoe store who wanted to remain anonymous said, “It’s a shame PedWest is closing just as the holiday shopping season was kicking in.”
Vaqar Hussain, a cab driver who depends on border commuters to make a living, said he and his fellow drivers are looking at difficult days ahead.
“If they close, we’ll be out of business. How are we going to survive?” said Vaqar, who told Border Report he has been driving a cab for almost 20 years, always near and around the port of entry.
“How are we going to support our families? They should seek to keep it open for the passengers coming in so we can make some money and survive.”
PedWest’s scheduled closing also affects the southbound commute into Mexico.
This portion of the crossing reopened two weeks ago after not being operational for more than three and a half years.
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