CBP Suspends Some Operations at San Ysidro Port of Entry to Prepare for Migrant Mob Arrival

SAN DIEGO  — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials temporarily suspended some operations at the San Ysidro port of entry early Monday morning.

At about 3:15 a.m., CBP officials temporarily suspended processing for all northbound vehicle traffic at the border crossing, as well as northbound pedestrian processing at the Pedestrian East facility.  The Pedestrian West facility and southbound vehicle lanes at San Ysidro were unaffected.

At approximately 6:25 a.m., CBP officers resumed processing northbound pedestrian traffic at the Pedestrian East facility, and resumed processing northbound vehicle traffic in lanes 6-11, 13-18, and 20-23.  Vehicle lanes 1-5, 12, 19, and 24-26 remained closed. CBP officials recommend that persons traveling northbound to the U.S. anticipate possible increased wait times because of the lane closures.

The lanes were closed to install additional port hardening materials at the port of entry, to include jersey barriers and concertina wire, to prepare for the potential arrival of thousands of people migrating in a caravan heading towards the border of the United States.

In the early morning hours, CBP officials received reports of groups of persons from the caravan gathering in the city of Tijuana for a possible attempt or attempts to rush illegally through the port of entry instead of presenting themselves as required to a CBP officer.  CBP officials suspended operations to safely place impediments at the port of entry that would restrict access to a large group attempting to run through the border crossing.  After the CBP response at San Ysidro, no activity materialized at the border crossing.

“CBP will not allow for the unlawful entry of persons into the United States, at or between our ports of entry,” said Pete Flores, Director of Field Operations in San Diego.  “Waiting until a large group of persons mass at the border to attempt an illegal crossing is too late for us; we need to be prepared prior to when they arrive at the border crossing.”