Elected officials and merchants asked the national commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to expedite the passage of drivers and pedestrians crossing from Tijuana to San Diego through San Ysidro.
The petition in a letter to Commissioner Chris Magnus says that long waits to cross the border affect both sides of the border equally.
Tens of thousands of drivers now line up from the Central Camionera in Tijuana about 6 miles away from the San Ysidro port of entry, to crawl for hours to cross the border.
The slowness impacts the work and studies of nearly 50,000 drivers daily who cross the border to their jobs and schools.
Supervisor Nora Vargas; San Diego councilmember Vivian Moreno; the San Ysidro School District president, Rudy López; and the executive director of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce, Jason Wells, signed the petition letter sent to Commissioner Chris Magnus.
Chula Vista Today consulted with some drivers who cross through the San Ysidro, who agreed that it currently takes three to four hours to cross the border through the San Ysidro on weekdays, and even longer on weekends.
The letter to the commissioner asks that CBP reduce the time to cross to between 30 and 45 minutes.
Unofficially CBP reports that the number of people crossing the border has increased, while the agency reduced its recruitment of new officers throughout the pandemic.
Commissioner Magnus did not respond to the letter as of Saturday.
Drivers and pedestrians who cross the border reported that the passage through San Ysidro was more agile this Saturday.
