Mexicali residents cross into U.S. in search for gasoline

News
Mexicali residents cross into U.S. in search for gasoline

By: Nico Payne
Posted: Jan 10, 2017 05:09 PM MST
Updated: Jan 10, 2017 05:09 PM MST

Calexico gas stations impacted

CALEXICO, Calif. - As massive demonstrations across Mexico continue over rising gasoline prices
Border towns in the Desert Southwest are starting to see longer lines at gas stations with some running out of gas.

Gas stations in Mexicali, Mexico started running out of gas on Monday evening and come Tuesday morning one of the most popular gas stations here in The Imperial Valley started running out of gas too.

Long lines were forming as drivers came to fill up their tank, but shortly after ten o’clock workers had to close the pumps.

“We weren't prepared, we sale a lot of gasoline at this station and we are hitting records with sales,” said Federico Navarro, AMPM Employee.

We spoke to one gentleman who said people in cities like Mexicali are lucky to be closer to the border.

“Fortunately the people that live here near the border, many of us have the option of getting gas in the U.S. But those that can't are stuck, some can't even get to work,” explained Juan Flores, Mexicali Resident.

Postal workers from Mexico who did not want to talk on camera said they had to cross to get gas, so they can continue their work.

And a couple traveling from Phoenix heard what was happening and decided to fill up their tank before heading home to Mexicali.

“We heard that there was no gasoline and that there was up to a three hour wait to cross into Calexico and get gas,” said Sergio Cortes, from Mexicali.

Workers at the AM-PM in Heber tell us that a fuel tank is on it was from San Diego and they hope to reopen soon.

http://www.kyma.com/news/mexicali-re...line/261290202

Mexican Drug Cartels Threaten To Blow Up Gas Stations

Oh does it never end with these people??!! Is there nothing they won't try to take from someone else?

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Originally Posted by Judy

Oh does it never end with these people??!! Is there nothing they won't try to take some someone else?

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They don't TAKE the gas.
They go to the gas station and BUY it.
For years Americans along the border went to Mexico to buy gas because it was cheaper there.

https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.c...5933.jpg?w=720

In 2008, California drivers crossed into Tijuana, Mexico, to take advantage of cheaper gas prices. Lately, the reverse is happening, with Mexicans driving into the U.S. for cheaper fuel. David McNew—Getty Images

GAS PRICES

Mexicans Are Flooding Across the U.S. Border…for Cheap Gas

Brad Tuttle
Updated: 9:15 AM Pacific

With less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in the White House, there has been a sharp increase in Mexicans streaming over America's southern border. They're not trying to sneak into the U.S. before Trump builds the border wall he's promised, however.

Instead, they're simply driving over to save money by fueling up at America's gas stations. Mexico instituted a price hike of about 20% to gas prices throughout the country at the start of the new year. The sudden price increases led to looting and protests in some parts of Mexico, as well as run-of-the-mill frustration among drivers forced to cope with higher costs for fueling up.

Predictably, many Mexican drivers in border areas have been heading into the U.S. to gas up and save some money, not unlike the way many U.S. citizens over the years have headed south to take advantage of cheaper prescription drug prices in Mexico.

Mexican nationals explained to one TV station in Texas that they'll save 60¢ per gallon by fueling up in Brownsville, Texas, rather than across the border in their hometown of Matamoros, Mexico. Some drivers said that the fuel is higher quality in the U.S. too, and that they're tired of the long waits—sometimes an hour or more—typical at gas stations in Mexico lately.

One gas station owner in the border town of San Luis, Ariz., said he had mixed feelings about the boost in business from Mexican drivers coming into the U.S to fuel up at $2.18 per gallon, rather than $2.78 at home. "If you look at how badly jobs are paid in Mexico, and for gas to be more expensive in Mexico than here, it's ridiculous," he said.

Detouring from Mexico into the U.S. is hardly quick or easy at some border areas. Bloomberg reported that drivers in Mexicali face waits of four to five hours to cross into Calexico, Calif. After fueling up, it's been taking drivers another two hours to cross the border back into Mexico.

Nonetheless, California gas stations near the border have been slammed with business thanks to the influx of Mexican drivers. One station reported as many as 10 cars lined up at time waiting to fuel up. Because of the heightened demand, the gas station has been forced to refill its own tanks once a day, compared to every three or four days normally.

What may seem particularly crazy to most American drivers is the idea that anyone would head to California for cheap gas. The state is infamous for routinely posting gas prices at or near the most expensive in the country. As of Thursday, according to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular was $2.81, second only to Hawaii ($3.05), and far higher than the U.S. national average ($2.35).

http://time.com/money/4633109/mexico...tations-cheap/

California border town profits from Mexico's gasoline crisis

Gustavo Solis , The Desert Sun5:51 p.m. PT Jan. 12, 2017

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/56d1...5617001-vs.jpg

Mexican drivers are crossing the border to fill their gas tanks because of a gasoline crisis in Mexico. Gas stations in border towns like Calexico are benefiting from the added business. (January 12, 2017) Richard Lui/The Desert Sun


http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/0867...hortage006.JPGBuy Photo
(Photo: Richard Lui/The Desert Sun)


A California border town is seeing big profits from Mexico’s gasoline price hike.

Angry about a 20 percent price increase in Mexico, protesters in the border town of Mexicali blocked gas distribution sites in the first week of January, leaving the city’s gas stations bone dry by Jan. 8.

Across the border in Calexico, gas stations are seeing a temporary boom in sales while vehicles wait an hour or longer to fill up.

“It’s great for us,” said Juan Arce, the manager of two SoCo Stations in the small Imperial County border town. “I do feel bad for the people to the south.”

Some gas stations throughout Calexico – a town of 40,000 people that borders a city of 680,000 – have tripled their sales.

SoCo Gas Station is one of 10 gas stations along Imperial Avenue within a mile from the U.S./Mexico border. All of them saw their sales increase since the price hike in Mexico.

“It’s been more than double,” said an excited Carlos Vera, the manager of a Shell gas station a few blocks north of the SoCo.

READ MORE: Protesters block trains traveling across Arizona-Mexico border after gasoline prices spike

On a good day, the Shell station can sell up to 5,000 gallons of gas. But since Sunday, they’ve been selling almost 10,000.

The station has had to refill every day from its distributor, Vera added.

The gas protests in Mexico have spawned another concern: longer wait times at the border.

Those desperate for gas in Mexicali have to endure above average wait times to cross into the U.S. Jose Luis Aguilar, a cab driver, waited two and a half hours to enter the U.S. on Monday. He filled his car up and waited another two and a half hours to get back into Mexicali.

“I didn’t make any money,” he said. “At least the drivers with a visa can fill up – the cab drivers without a visa are screwed."

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/4b42...rtage-MAIN.JPG
Florencio Butron, 55, of Mexicali fills up his car at the Shell gas station in the border town of Calexico, California on Wednesday, January 11, 2017. A gas price hike and protests against the hike has made supplies unreliable, across the border, in Mexicali for the past several days. (Photo: Richard Lui/The Desert Sun)


On Wednesday morning, motorists filled up gallon containers of gasoline to bring back with them into Mexico. Some even filled up metal barrels and empty laundry detergent containers in order to give gasoline to friends and family unable to cross the border.

“My friend hasn’t had gas in almost two weeks,” said Anabel Solorsano, who lives on the U.S. side of the border and was trying to take gallon containers south.

Mexico’s gas controversy began on Jan. 1, when the price of gasoline increased across the nation. The president said this is a necessary step to deregulate the country’s entire energy sector. The move is estimated to bring in foreign gas companies and boost the economy.

In Mexico, the price hike was seen as just one of a long list of reasons to protest. The scandal-plagued president has a historically low approval rating, violent crime is on the rise and the peso has been losing value ever since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election.

On Wednesday morning, federal police officers in Mexicali cleared the road so that gasoline distributors could refill gas stations. By the afternoon, some were open but the demand was so high that lines to the pumps were more than an hour long.

Calexico's gas station operators hope the increased sales last a couple of more days.

“I’ve seen people that have never been here before,” said Arce from the SoCo. “Hopefully we got a few new customers.”

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/2cb6...-Gas-Truck.jpgA police vehicle escorts a gasoline delivery truck in Mexicali, Mexico on Thursday, January 12, 2017. Protest over gasoline prices had caused a gasoline shortage in parts of Mexico. (Photo: Zo‘ Meyers/The Desert Sun)


Immigration Reporter Gustavo Solis can be reached at 760 778 6443 or by email at gustavo.solis@desertsun.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @journogoose.


http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/...isis/96468382/

JohnDoe2, is there nothing wrong with Mexicans driving across the border? I thought it was illegal to drive across the border without a visa? Am I wrong about that? Do Mexicans not need visas to enter the United States? Can you get a visa to buy gasoline? Any information on this would be appreciated. Thank you.

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Originally Posted by Judy

JohnDoe2, is there nothing wrong with Mexicans driving across the border? I thought it was illegal to drive across the border without a visa? Am I wrong about that? Do Mexicans not need visas to enter the United States? Can you get a visa to buy gasoline? Any information on this would be appreciated. Thank you.

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They are driving across at the U.S. Port of Entry, LEGALLY. Most people who live in the border area have some type of border crossing cards that allows them to come to the U.S and shop for food, clothing, furniture, cars, etc. and then return home. They have been doing it for decades. Mexicans with U.S. student visas can live in Mexico and cross the border every day for school, or anything else. Mexicans with tourist visas can also enter.

Border Crossing Card.
A Border Crossing Card (BCC) is an identity document as well as a B1/B2 visa that allows entry into the United States by Mexican citizens. ... The document also functions as a full B1/B2 visa when presented with a valid Mexican passport.

Border Crossing Card - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Crossing_Card

Border Crossing Card

Overview

The Border Crossing Card (BCC) is both a BCC and a B1/B2 visitor’s visa. A BCC (also referred to as a DSP-150) is issued as a laminated card, which has enhanced graphics and technology, similar to the size of a credit card. It is valid for travel until the expiration date on the front of the card, usually ten years after issuance.

Border Crossing Card Validity

• The new card is valid for ten years after issuance, except in the cases of some children (see Border Crossing Card Fees).
• “Laser visas” issued prior to October 1, 2008 are still valid for travel until the expiration date on the front of the card.

Qualifying for a Border Crossing Card

• B1/B2 visa/Border Crossing Cards are only issued to applicants who are citizens of and resident in Mexico.
• Applicants must meet the eligibility standards for B1/B2 visas.
• They must demonstrate that they have ties to Mexico that would compel them to return after a temporary stay in the United States.

Applying for a Border Crossing Card

BCC applicants must make an application using the normal procedures set by consular sections in Mexico. Refer to the websites of the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico for details.

Required Documentation

All applicants for a B1/B2 visa/Border Crossing Card must have a valid Mexican passport at the time of application.

Border Crossing Card Fees

For current fees for Department of State services, select Fees.
Mexican children under 15 years of age pay a reduced fee for a Border Crossing Card. The child must have at least one parent who holds a valid BCC or is applying for a BCC. BCC's issued for the reduced fee expire on the child’s 15th birthday. If the full fee is paid, the child receives a BCC valid for the full ten years.

References - U.S. Laws

Section 104 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) serves as the legal basis for the issuance of Border Crossing Cards.

https://travel.state.gov/content/vis...sing-card.html

Oh well if that isn't the dumbest damn thing I've ever heard of. "reasons to compel return". And when they don't "return", what do authorities do? Are these part of the millions of illegal aliens here on visa overstays or a category they don't bother to count like most of our unemployed Americans?

This Clinton idea needs to be canceled, repealed, and no more issued.

Mexican sales tax hike seen as boon on US border


By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press
Dec 31, 2014 4:10 PM EST

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (AP) -- Mexican license plates are common in parking lots of shopping malls in U.S. border cities. They will be even more familiar after Mexico raises its federal sales tax in border regions to match the rest of the country, say merchants and shoppers.

The increase to 16 percent from 11 percent, which takes effect Wednesday, has sparked large protests on the Mexican side of the border. Facebook pages with secessionist tones have generated about 200,000 "likes." Thousands have signed petitions to challenge the tax hike in court.

The Mexican government says the two-tiered tax structure, which was introduced decades ago to make border cities competitive, is no longer justified.

Others say the increase may backfire by driving more shoppers north of the border, harming the economy and raising less tax revenue than anticipated.

"We don't compete against the rest of Mexico, we compete against the American economy," said Juan Manuel Hernandez, president of the Tijuana Business Coordinating Council, an umbrella group of business chambers.

U.S. border regions like California's Imperial Valley - which has three Wal-Mart Supercenters and only 175,000 residents - have long depended on Mexican shoppers who buy everything from gasoline to groceries. Brand-name clothing and electronics are perennial draws for Mexicans seeking products that are more expensive or hard to find south of the border.

Mexican shoppers spend more than $4.5 billion a year in Texas border cities, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Fed economists estimated in March that Mexican border crossers account for 58 percent of retail sales in Laredo and 42 percent in McAllen.

Published research is more dated for other border states, but the impact is undeniable. University of Arizona researchers concluded that Mexican shoppers accounted for 48.6 percent of taxable sales in Santa Cruz County, Ariz., which includes Nogales, from July 2007 through June 2008.

Thomas Fullerton, an economics professor at University of Texas at El Paso, estimates the tax hike will cause Mexican shoppers to spend between 5 percent and 10 percent more on the U.S. side of the border in 2014. Smaller cities like Douglas, Ariz., and Calexico, Calif., are expected to feel it more than San Diego and El Paso, which have more diverse economies.

U.S. businesses will benefit less in later years as Mexicans adjust to higher taxes, said Fullerton, who has studied how changes in the Mexican economy affect retail sales in El Paso.

The tax increase, which the government of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto estimates will raise $1.15 billion a year, is part of a package of fiscal measures that also raises taxes on businesses and top-end wage earners, ends some deductions and introduces a tax on junk food.

Pena Nieto's administration says border businesses haven't shared savings from lower sales taxes with consumers. It found consumer goods were 4 percent higher than in the rest of the country and noted that other countries and states within the U.S. don't allow lower sales taxes for business on their borders.

Hernandez and business leaders from other border states challenged those findings at a meeting with Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray in Mexico City in October, showing results of their own survey of a basket of consumer goods that found prices in San Diego were 4 percent lower than Tijuana and 37 percent lower than Mexico City. They offered studies predicting dire economic consequences.

The secretary didn't argue with the studies, according to Hernandez, but asked what would happen if businesses absorbed the impact or shared the hit with consumers. The discussions went nowhere.

The tax increase spawned Facebook pages with renegade slogans for Mexican border states. "Republic of Baja California" has 140,000 likes, and "Republic of Chihuahua" has 36,000 likes.

About 2,500 shoppers signed a petition the weekend before Christmas at a Tijuana shopping mall to seek an injunction against the tax increase, Hernandez said. The Tijuana business group is leading an effort in Mexican border states to submit tens of thousands of signatures to a federal court in Tijuana in early February.

"It's necessary to speak up because the border needs to be able to compete," said Esteban Elias, 44, a Tijuana auto mechanic who signed the petition and buys groceries and clothing in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista.

Until recently, Elias, like millions living in Mexican border regions, went to the U.S. on a "border crossing card," which allows quick visits within short distances of the border. Since his card expired, he places orders through others. Other Mexican shoppers are U.S. citizens or legal residents.

Some speculate that Mexican customs officials will step up inspections on returning shoppers, discouraging cross-border jaunts. Purchases are duty-free up to $300 a person during the winter holiday season, but many shoppers flout the rules.

Still, U.S. business leaders are geared for a sales bump.

"This tax increase gives Mexican nationals an excuse to shop and spend money on the U.S. side," said Steve Ahlenius, president of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...12-31-16-10-38

Mexican sales tax hike seen as boon on US border

JohnDoe2, if these transactions from border crossings are legal, why is this thread in the illegal immigration forum? Maybe it should be in Other Topics or General Discussion. Just a thought.

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Originally Posted by Judy

JohnDoe2, if these transactions from border crossings are legal, why is this thread in the illegal immigration forum? Maybe it should be in Other Topics or General Discussion. Just a thought.

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Forum: illegal immigration News Stories & Reports

Members of ALIPAC can post their own illegal immigration news stories here. Articles must be on the topics of illegal immigration, illegal immigrants, gangs, laws, campaigns, campaigns & candidates, legal immigration, terrorists, border patrol, and border security.

Riots, Looting in Mexico Over Spiking Gas Prices

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http://media.breitbart.com/media/201...ts-640x480.jpgBreitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles

by CARTEL CHRONICLES 7 Jan 2017 982

MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon — Authorities arrested 48 men in connection with a protest that evolved into a large scale riot and the looting of numerous downtown stores. The protest appeared to be connected to Mexico’s most recent spike in gasoline prices.

Nuevo León Authorities confirmed the arrests of 48 rioters on Thursday night. The suspects allegedly assaulted other citizens, journalists, and caused widespread damage to private property as well as state, local and federal buildings.

Aldo Fasci, spokesman for Nuevo León’s security services, said the government supported the citizen’s right to peacefully protest but the government would go after the agitators who sparked the violence.

Much like in the rest of Mexico, the protests began in a peaceful manner. However, a team of agitators reportedly traveled to Nuevo Leon from the central part of Mexico and infiltrated the protest sparking the violence.

“The provocation was evident,” Fasci said. He stated that the individuals currently being interviewed by state officials speak with accents that are particular to the central part of Mexico.

In Monterrey, the looters struck at three separate shopping centers. as well as vandalizing. They also vandalized the Mayor’s Office, the Governor’s Office and other federal buildings.

The civil unrest began late last year when Mexico’s federal government announced a new gasoline price increase that took effect in early 2017.

The spike in gas prices comes as the Mexican Peso continues to devalue exponentially against the U.S. Dollar. Rising gas prices followed a complex series of energy reforms and tax moves by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto who claims to be trying to deregulate the price of gasoline and other products in Mexico.

Since Peña Nieto began that move in 2016, every few weeks, Mexican citizens have been hit with spikes in the price of gasoline.

As reported by Breitbart Texas, the most recent spike resulted in Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco New Generation calling for the mass torching of gas stations in Mexico unless the government sets fair prices. The threat circulated on social media and led to authorities in Jaslico to issue a statement about increasing security in gas stations.

In the border city of Matamoros, gas station owners have organized a protest by refusing to buy gas at the new prices.

The businessmen are going off their reserves purchased before the price increasess in an attempt to force the government to lower the prices. The move has sparked fear among residents that the price war could lead to gas stations running dry.

http://media.breitbart.com/media/201...-security-.jpg
The lack of cheap gas prices opens a window of opportunity to Mexican cartels who steal gas from pipelines only to sell it themselves at half of the price of gas stations.

Hooded citizens on social media have called for Peña Nieto to resign. They encouraged Mexican’s to take to the streets to block highways, protest outside government buildings, and other measures aimed at improving the energy crisis. A video obtained by Breitbart Texas shows a hooded man using expletives to refer to Peña Nieto as he states that they have taken control of the toll highway that connects the cities of San Luis Potosi and Queretaro. The hooded man says that motorists will not pay a cent to the government tolls as in response to the gas prices.

The widespread discontent has prompted authorities nationwide to increase security patrolling along the country’s highways, at government buildings, and at gas stations.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/...ng-gas-prices/

Oh okay, JD2. Thank you for the information, I didn't realize it was such a broad forum. Good to know!

:)