LONGER BORDER WAITS DUE TO SHORT STAFF

Lack of employees at inspection booths leads to clogs at crossings

Since the border reopened in November to non-essential travel, border waits have swelled to exceedingly long lines that could stif le local commerce and economic recovery.

According to the Smart Border Coalition, about 120,000 passenger vehicles, 63,000 pedestrians and 6,000 trucks cross back and forth between San Diego and Tijuana every single day.

Before the pandemic, the value of trade between San Diego and Mexico consistently topped $4 billion per year. Commercial exchange between Tijuana and San Diego was valued at $2.1 million daily.

Border waits were unpredictable during the pandemic, with essential workers sometimes having to sleep overnight in their cars at the border to make sure they would be able to make it to work on time. Trade and commerce between the two countries drastically slowed, permanently shuttering many small businesses that line the border on both sides.

The lifting of the travel ban on Nov. 8 ended more than 18 months of restrictions and coincided with the start of the holiday shopping season, allowing in non-essential tourists who had proof of their coronavirus vaccination and proper documentation to legally enter the U.S.

As of Thursday, data shows border wait times regularly surpassing two hours in regular passenger vehicle lanes, according to Customs and Border Protection’s border wait times webpage.

The issue isn’t one of infrastructure, but rather staffing. From 2004 to 2015, the U.S. government spent $741 million to sharply expand and improve the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The 62 northbound inspection booths, spread out over 34 lanes, were supposed to speed up border crossings.

But now there aren’t enough CBP officers to man the booths.

The National Treasury Employees Union, an independent labor union that represents federal employees, including border agents,