Long lines 'never seen before' at California border crossing plague holiday shoppers

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Mari was looking forward to a day of holiday shopping north of the border on Sunday morning.

But when she got to the pedestrian side of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, she said she could not believe how long the line was.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Mari, a Tijuana native, adding that waits were anywhere from six to seven hours to cross the border.

“They opened Chaparral, now it’s closed,” she said, referring to the indefinite closure of PedWest, the pedestrian border crossing known as Chaparral on the Mexican side.

Border commuter Mari said she waited in line between six and seven hours to cross the border on Sunday via de San Ysidro Port of Entry. (Yolanda Morales/Special for Border Report)

PedWest is on the west side of the San Ysidro Port of Entry but was closed Saturday afternoon for the foreseeable future.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is moving agents who work at this facility to the field so they can help Border Patrol agents apprehend asylum-seekers.

With the closure of PedWest, Mari and fellow commuters are forced to go to the other side of the crossing, adding to the already long lines.

“It’s become a lot more difficult to cross,” said another border commuter. “It’s really bad this time of the year when everyone is going to the U.S. to shop or to visit relatives.”

According to the CBP website, the average wait was two hours and 40 minutes on Monday afternoon.

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, wait times averaged 2 hours and 40 minutes on Monday for pedestrians walking in from Mexico to the U.S. via the San Ysidro Port of Entry (Source: CBP Border Wait Times)

“They should open Chaparral,” said an unidentified woman.

Others, including many lawmakers from the region, also want PedWest to reopen.

“I spoke with Secretary Mayorkas today and urged him to reconsider diverting personnel away from the nation’s busiest border crossing, which will suspend operations at one of San Diego’s port of entries,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said. “Reducing staffing levels during the busiest time of the year will deal an enormous blow to San Diego’s economy and upend the holiday season for families who celebrate together on both sides of the border.

U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas, D-California, who represents San Diego in Congress, went on to say PedWest’s closure is a “gut punch” to all those who depend on the crossing and a decision that “must be reversed immediately.”

“I urgently call upon DHS Secretary Mayorkas to rescind CBP’s plan to pull agents from the busiest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere,” said Vargas. “The closure of PedWest, and the expected increase in wait times, will affect families wishing to visit loved ones during the holidays and impact the regional economy.

But CBP says there are no current plans to reopen PedWest, meaning people like Mari and others are looking at long waits whenever they want to walk into the U.S. for the time being.