Six lanes to remain closed at San Ysidro Port of Entry until further notice

Six lanes to remain closed at San Ysidro Port of Entry until further notice

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...1-23-22-43.jpg[Traffic backs up at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Wednesday night.

By ALEXANDRA MENDOZA WRITER
MARCH 12, 2020 3:08 PM

SAN YSIDRO —U.S. Customs and Border Protection has closed down six vehicle lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry until further notice.

The closures are not related to the coronavirus pandemic, a CBP spokesperson confirmed, but part of heightened security measures related to possible court-ordered changes to the “Remain in Mexico” program.

Any changes, however, appear to be far off. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a San Diego district court injunction that would have lifted the program, which forces asylum seekers to stay in Mexico for the duration of their U.S. immigration cases. The stay will remain in place for the duration of the legal challenge, would could last more than a year.

Before the Supreme Court’s announcement, CBP had been preparing for the injunction to possibly go into effect in California and Arizona.

Eighty active-duty troops were dispatched to the San Diego border to help with security measures out of fear that a large group of immigrants could try to force their way into the country.

On Tuesday, CBP temporarily suspended operations on six of the nearly 30 active vehicle lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry to “install and pre-position port hardening infrastructure equipment in preparation for increasing security practices,” said CBP spokeswoman Angelica DeCima.

And late Wednesday, CBP and the Department of Defense’s Crisis Response Force held a training exercise at the port of entry. Commuters who were waiting to cross into the U.S. were notified of the exercise through a loudspeaker. The border crossing was interrupted for about 15 minutes, according to witnesses.

DeCima later confirmed that lanes No. 1, 12, 13, 14, 28 and 29 will remain closed until further notice.

The business sector anticipates that this will increase wait times to cross the Tijuana-San Diego border. “They are going to increase, but we cannot predict how much,” said Gustavo de la Fuente, executive director with the Smart Border Coalition.

It is unclear how long the military will remain at the border. A Department of Defense spokesman said that the deployment was supposed to be for two weeks. With the Remain in Mexico program indefinitely stayed, he said it was unknown if the deployment would end early.

Staff writer Wendy Fry contributed to this report.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...further-notice

Shut the WHOLE border down until Mexico clears out the Tent Cities and loads them on buses and planes back home.

Mexico does not need this epidemic and we do not want them in the USA either.

We have our own Tent Cities to clean up FULL of American people who need help.

Send them back to their HOMES in their country.