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Long line to get IN to Mexico

rugrat
Roaming the USA
Made two trips into Tijuana this week. Hong Kong and Chicago club reviews will be coming but wanted to give a heads up on what is going on at the border.

I took the trolley both days and was surprised to see the line INTO Mexico was backed up to the trolley. On Thursday night it went all the way down to the street then doubled back to past the McDonalds to near the drop off area.

I thought there was maybe a new protocol or something, but the only issue is that only one of the turnstile gates to enter Mexico is open. With all the luggage and baggage the locals bring back it was really slowing things down. Once through the turnstile I was waved through both time just showing my passport and proceeded down to the taxi queue and on to adult Disneyland. Taxi drivers were firm on $10 this time. That was also new.

The good news is it was not a long wait. 15 to 20 minutes, but for those of us used to just walking into Mexico it was a surprise.

Going back was also unusual due to the lack of wait. Usually at night the line into the is short but both times I walked right up to the bored US immigration agents. No wait at all.

20 comments

Latest

captainfun
•
a year ago
Was the other turnstile broken? Wild that going from two to one had such a big effect.

I guess you could enter Pedestrian West crossing in the meantime - which I’ve always wanted to try but never have

rugrat
•
a year ago
Not sure the hours of ped west but that would maybe be an option.
azfriole
•
a year ago
Ped west is closed again. Recently shut back down to reassign resources to areas of need.
azfriole
•
a year ago
At least it was closed this Wednesday getting back into US. Not sure about into Mexico thou
OPIllini96
•
a year ago
Pedwest is closed both ways for the time being. They needed to use the facility for migrant processing, and reportedly the plan is to reopen soon for travelers coming back from Mexico - one-way only. Even when it was open earlier this year, you couldn’t get into Mexico from Pedwest - you had to use Pedeast.
gammanu95
•
a year ago
Sounds almost like a dream, if it were all the illegals trying to get OUT of the USA.

Maybe in 2024...
PutaTester
•
a year ago
I went back-and-forth the past four days. Oplliin96 is exactly correct regarding Ped West. Ped West is closer to where I typically park and it has been closed for months.

The OP is also correct about the line into Mexico. I was supposed to meet my ATF at 6:30. It was over 30 minutes in line. I have seen long lines here before, but never like this. It was difficult to find the end.

And there was a large number of line cutter asshats. Behind me was a mother and her three little daughters that she was trying not to loose waiting (not) patiently in the line. People at the turnstile tried to call them out, but some people are OKAY with being rude.
RonJax2
•
a year ago
Oof, waiting to get into Mexico when you know what awaits you sounds agonizing. Hopefully they fix this shit before I can make my next trip. Thanks for the intel rugrat, PT et al.
rugrat
•
a year ago
Agree with PutaTester, the line cutters were bad. Luckily there were not many of them. I also did feel bad for the families. I don't know if this is a broken turnstile issue or something else where Mexico is trying to slow down the number of people in the immigration building.
Jascoi
•
a year ago
at what time is it backing up into the USA? is it the mid to late afternoon... evening? and what days usually?
PutaTester
•
a year ago
Lately, what time isn’t the line to the at least a few hours long? Getting worse. Crossed at 11:00 am yesterday (Saturday) and it was four hours long. As the holidays get closer, it will be worse.

Going into Mexico, getting parked on the USA side is getting difficult, because the traffic is backing up past the mall, blocking lot access.

The authorities don’t seem to want to do anything to fix these issues.
captainfun
•
a year ago
Four hour line on foot to enter Ped East?

Is taking an Uber over the border into Mexico an option vs entering on foot?
JamesSD
•
a year ago
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/…

Sounds like the issue is largely on the Mexico side. Also apparently more Americans living in Mexico for lower COL.
rugrat
•
a year ago
"Is taking an Uber over the border into Mexico an option vs entering on foot?" From the trolley it looked like entering by car into Mexico had the same issue. Both I-5 and I-805 were backed up.
RonJax2
•
a year ago
@captainfun, unless something's changed recently, you can't Uber or Lyft across the border. I recall researching this a while back, Uber did a pilot program for cross border rides a few years ago but has since discontinued it.
captainfun
•
a year ago
Thanks for the info RonJax
TJVisitor23
•
a year ago
I didn’t even realize there was an east west crossing. I’ll have to pay closer attention next trip. Hope the one I used isn’t the closed one now.
PutaTester
•
a year ago
Apparently I didn't make it clear. My previous comment was regarding crossing into the USA from Mexico has been from 2-4 hours on a consistent basis during peak hours. Off-peak hours are in the window when the trolley is not running (12:00 midnight to 4:30 am).
TJ Walker
•
a year ago
The default crossing is East Ped or old border, it's always open. The new border is Ped West, it's only used when needed, and it has been reopened now.
rugrat
•
a year ago
Bumping an my old thread, this is no longer an issue. Both turnstiles are working and there was no wait in either direction either Sunday or Tuesday evening (into Mexico around 7:00 pm, return USA around midnight). Mexico immigration was just a quick look at the passport card then a wave through.
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