LONGER WAITS WOULD DISRUPT LIVES ALL ALONG BORDER
Economists define inefficiency as the failure to put scarce resources, such as money and time, to their best use. Much of the transfronterizx population will argue that this is the situation of communities along the U.S.-Mexico border: lost time (and gas money) to go to the dentist, school or shopping, or visit friends and family on the other side because of the long lines people have to endure to come into the U.S.
As someone who grew up moving between both borders, learning about the X-ray machines that will be scanning all cars crossing causes me great concern. I have been sent to secondary inspection when coming to Calexico by car, which requires you to drive by an X-ray machine very slowly — no faster than 5 miles per hour. How much will the use of these machines slow inspections if all incoming cars are required to drive through them?
In my experience, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is not concerned about the impact of its decisions on the economic and social welfare of our communities. With the start of the pandemic, the agency decided to limit the operations of one of the two Calexico ports of entry, causing longer lines both for incoming and outgoing vehicles. With this constraint, Imperial Avenue, Calexico’s busiest street, becomes filled with cars patiently waiting in line for up to two hours every afternoon, disrupting the city’s business and causing headaches to residents.
An earlier case of a poorly designed operational measure by CBP was so disruptive that it gained criticism from the district’s U.S. representative, Juan Vargas. To restrict the movement across the border and contain COVID-19 infection rates, CBP slowed crossing wait times during the fourth weekend of August last year, with reports of up to eight hours in crossing wait times in temperatures above 110 F. After the story broke in local outlets on both sides of the border, this poorly thought measure became the object of a statement by Vargas, who accused CBP’s operational changes of being “implemented without consideration” of their impact on essential workers. “Individuals are crossing to do essential work and take part in supporting our economy,” he said.
Even if X-ray machines do not result in eight-hour-long lines, any increase in waiting times will impact the physical, mental and economic well-being of people living in Mexico and working in the U.S. Being inside a car for longer periods of time will cause higher levels of stress and sleep deprivation for workers, who currently must be in line as early as 2 a.m. to be at work on time. On this topic, it is important to highlight that much of the winter commuter population is composed of farmworkers, who in addition to enduring lines at the border, have also been affected disproportionately by COVID-19 infections. Besides the exposure experienced at their workplace, commuters often travel together to save on gas, and slower lines will only further encourage these saving measures.
By virtue of being located in the desert, the region of Mexicali-Imperial Valley experiences extreme temperatures during the summer months, exceeding 120 F for weeks at a time. The hot weather will only worsen the already-difficult situation with crossing wait times that transfronterizxs face, especially for the vulnerable population that must cross on a regular basis, such as children and the elderly.
From June to August, it is not unusual to see people pushing their cars out of the crossing line because they overheated and broke down. To avoid a similar fate and to save on gas, many drivers instead turn off their air conditioning, enduring the Mexicali sun in their vehicles for hours. A trip under these conditions leaves travelers absolutely exhausted, dehydrated and at risk of experiencing a heat stroke, even when prepared with electrolytes and icecold water. Extending the time to come across the border can make an already severe trip even more daring.
As a final thought, I am worried about the potential danger X-ray machines pose for daily commuters, including children and pregnant people. CBP is the agency tasked with the militarization of the border, and has been criticized by organizations such as the ACLU for its lack of transparency and accountability.
Thus, I do not trust it to prioritize the health of transfronterizxs, a community made up overwhelmingly of people of color, when installing these technologies to further scrutinize passengers and their vehicles on a regular basis.
With the little transparency and information that is available on these machines, I do not believe they will make our communities safer. Instead, I fear they will negatively affect not only the overall well-being of people that travel routinely between both countries but also impact the communities on both sides of the border.