There are several posts on Facebook where users report an excessive increase in the waiting time to cross from Tijuana to San Diego, mainly in the lines for pedestrians.

At the Otay border crossing, both in the pedestrian and vehicular lanes, a waiting time of 5 hours was detected, once inside the area to enter the neighboring country. In fact, there are intervals of more than 30 minutes where no progress is observed. Regarding the San Ysidro crosswalk, the situation is not very different, as a similar delay and practically no or very slow progress is still experienced.

The president of Smart Border Coalition, Gustavo de la Fuente, told Uniradio Informa that this phenomenon is mainly due to 3 factors: the first one is caused by the progress of the vaccination and the economic recovery that this entails in San Diego, since about 50% of the residents in the county have already been fully immunized against COVID-19, which causes security in people and motivates them to make the border crossing to a greater extent.

Another element that delays the entry of people into the United States is the increase in the number of migrants attempting to enter the country illegally, either through the traditional crossing lanes or by vehicle, a situation that has led to an even greater deployment of border elements in the area.

In early May, CBP officials reported that the increase in illegal crossings is affecting normal operations at the various border crossings in Baja California, as it has been necessary to relocate personnel and resources to ensure the entry process, which were originally intended for the normal operation of the line and its progress.

The last factor is also due to the amount of drugs that have been seized by the border patrol in the last few days, since according to de la Fuente, there are indications of an increase in the detection of this type of crime in "the line".

Just on May 15, a 29-year-old driver was arrested at the Otay-Mesa commercial facility, after border police found 120 packages combined with other medical supplies, which had a monetary value of $5.5 million.

Previously, last Wednesday, thousands of residents heading to the United States had to wait for more than 7 hours due to the start of repaving works at the Otay border crossing in Tijuana, Baja California; and although authorities had indicated that the works would only be carried out at night to avoid affecting the daily mobility of the road, the truth is that it has actually generated chaos in this area.

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