Anonymous - 11-24-2004 at 07:23 AM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20041124-9...
Crossings up dramatically at the region's ports of entry
By Hiram Soto
November 24, 2004
After a sharp drop in border traffic following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry have registered
record numbers of crossers, according to new federal figures.
In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, crossings jumped by more than 2 million at the region's two main ports of entry.
More tourism, improved business conditions and even an increase in the number of people who live in Tijuana and commute to jobs in San Diego County
are some of the reasons for the rise, according to government officials and businesspeople.
"The increase has been dramatic," said Jim Sanchez, a board member of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce, who crosses to Tijuana for business three or
four times a week.
Pedestrians made up the biggest part of the combined increase at the two ports of entry ? to 11.3 million in fiscal 2004 from 9.3 million in 2003.
Passenger vehicle crossings increased by 1.4 million at Otay Mesa during the same period, but dropped by about 800,000 in San Ysidro.
The walkers may have been lured by the special pedestrian gateway that opened in September. Part of the SENTRI program, the lanes allow people who
have been pre-screened to cross the border quickly. To attract users, officials are waiving the registration fee during the start-up phase. So far,
about 2,500 people have signed up.
There are two vehicle SENTRI lanes each at San Ysidro and at Otay Mesa. They are so popular with drivers eager to avoid long delays in the regular
traffic lanes that U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced two additional lanes will open at each port by early spring.
These will use high-tech cards to further speed up the crossing. The cards will replace the radio frequency transmitters attached to the cars of
SENTRI users, which enable border officers to automatically obtain information about the driver and the vehicle.
The switch to cards will make the SENTRI system here compatible with the one used on the Canadian border. Crossers can then use the cards in any port
of entry where the program is offered.
"It was never our plan to have so many people with only two lanes, so the intent was to grow and that's what we are doing," said Sally Carrillo,
acting assistant port director at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
"The other alternative was to cut off enrollment."
About 60,000 commuters have registered with the SENTRI vehicle program, which started at Otay Mesa in 1995 and at San Ysidro in 2000.
Marney Cox, chief economist for the San Diego Association of Governments, said that while part of the reason for the increase in crossers is a
recovery from the aftermath of Sept. 11, more people who work in San Diego County are choosing to live in Tijuana and commute.
"There is both anecdotal as well as other information that shows us more people are beginning to live south of the border, and a lot of it has to do
with the cost of living, especially housing, on this side of the border," Cox said. "They are living there, and coming across to work."
According to new federal statistics, about 2 million more people crossed the border on foot in the latest fiscal year at San Ysidro. The figure is one
of many factors behind an increase in the number of people from San Diego County visiting Tijuana.
Tourism in Tijuana increased 22 percent from last year, said Juan Luis Coronado of the city's tourism bureau, which monitors several key tourism
indicators.
"We can see (the increased border traffic) when you look at our occupancy rates, which are up 6 percent," Coronado said. "You can see it with the
additional revenue from our toll roads and in the demand of the services we offer to tourists."
Sanchez, of the San Ysidro chamber of commerce, pointed to business and social reasons.
"We are seeing a lot of companies from San Diego utilizing some of the more educated work force from Tijuana to reach the Latino community in the
U.S.," he said.
Business along the border is brisk.
JER Partners, the company that operates The Shops at Las Americas, a shopping center adjacent to the port of entry, projected a 10 percent increase in
sales in 2004, in part due to the jump in border crossings.
J.C. Richards, vice president of JER Partners, said tourism between San Diego and Tijuana is a strong factor in the crossings.
"We welcome many shoppers from Baja California," he said.
It is unclear what effect the increased border traffic is having on day-to-day operation of the region's two ports of entry. Local spokesmen were not
immediately available to comment on the new figures.
Although there are more people crossing the border, there have been fewer applications made by Baja California residents for laser visas, according to
Lorena Blanco, media coordinator for the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana.
The laser visas allow Mexican nationals who can meet residency and financial solvency requirements to enter the United States for up to 30 days and to
travel within 25 miles of the border.
There were approximately 107,000 laser visa applications received in Baja California in fiscal 2004. About 64,700 visas were issued, Blanco said. In
fiscal year 2003, about 91,500 visas were issued.
Though the number of visas granted has dropped, those issued for fiscal year 2004 reflect an increase in border traffic, Blanco said. The laser visas
are good for 10 years and the length of stay was recently extended to 30 days from 72 hours.
"The population here in Tijuana keeps growing and growing," Blanco said, "and we keep getting a lot of applications, even though the number from one
fiscal year to another has dropped."