The General Services Administration (GSA) inaugurated an expansion of the inspection capacity, from 9 to 16 simultaneous doors, in the main commercial checkpoint of the California border in Otay Mesa.
Expanding the inspection area to commercial trucks is the first of two phases at Otay Mesa.
Phase two is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2023. According to GSA, it consists of expanding the number of pedestrian entrance doors from 6 to 12, expected to be completed in 2023.
The Otay Mesa project stands in stark contrast to actions last week at the Texas border, where Gov. Gregg Abbott ordered secondary inspections that delayed the entry of trucks from Mexico for up to 30 hours.
Congressman Juan Vargas said during a press conference in Otay Mesa that "that is the difference between Texas and us. We prefer to work together with Mexico on projects that benefit both sides of the border, and not cause millionaire losses."
According to data from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Otay Mesa commercial port had an upturn in the number of trucks that cross into California, now reaching a daily average of between 3,800 and 4,200 on weekdays. More than a million commercial trucks passed through Otay Mesa in the previous fiscal year, which ended in September.
It translates into a recovery of 108 thousand trucks. Due to the pandemic, the number had decreased by 51 thousand trucks in the previous fiscal year.
In addition to the growing number of commercial cargo trucks that cross, "during the pandemic, Mexican exports of medical items and commercial electronic components increased," the Mexican consul in San Diego, Carlos González Gutiérrez said.
The national director of CBP field operations, Pete Flores, said that while the agents secure the border against drugs, human trafficking and expedite the legitimate crossing of goods and people, at the same time they secure food because "the economy is also national security."
The new facility did not fully come into operation this Tuesday because on the Mexican side, at the Otay Mesa port of entry, the Mexican government still needs to hire enough personnel to handle the flow of cargo trucks.
The $31 million funding for expanding the Otay Mesa commercial port of entry had bipartisan approval.
