US-Mexico border reopens after 20 months of COVID closure

By Lizbeth Diaz and Jose Luis Gonzalez

TIJUANA / CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) – There were fewer crossings than expected on the Mexican-US border on Monday as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed 20 months after opening for non-essential travel as many residents stayed home. to avoid potential chaos.

Officials in the Mexican border city of Tijuana said people did not get the most out of the restrictions lifted along the 2,000-mile (3,200 km) border for fear of being caught in traffic.

“In the morning, there was no line,” said Claudia Hernandez, a resident of Tijuana, who was preparing to enter the U.S. to shop before the Thanksgiving holiday.

“We’ll see the massive lines that always emerge next week.”

Javier Delgado, Tijuana’s head of transport, said that on the city’s border with San Diego, one of the busiest borders in the world, there was about 35% less traffic than expected.

On Sunday, hundreds of cars formed lines back miles from Tijuana, sparking fears that reopening could become a problem. But the traffic kept going.

In the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, near El Paso, Texas, about 20 people lined up Monday morning before crossing and embracing the family across the border.

“We thought they would tell us again that they decided not to open it,” said Lorena Hernandez, who caressed her adult daughter’s hair and smiled broadly when they first met in El Paso in March 2020. he said, ‘If they don’t reopen, I’ll take a plane.’ “

The Mexican Foreign Ministry said Monday night that the first day to reopen the border was done “without incident.”

“The flow of the border is expected to increase over the weekend and gradually as the holidays approach and starting on Black Friday,” the ministry said.

However, different rules on coronavirus vaccines threaten to keep https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/some-mexicans-seek-out-new-jabs-us-border-restrictions-relax-2021-11-06 some family reunions, some opportunities to alleviate some of the limitations has also encouraged migrants to seek US asylum https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/spurred-by-reopening-more-migrants-head-us- mexico-border-2021- 11-07, raises a new test for the Biden administration.

Some inoculated Mexicans will be barred from entering the United States immediately if they receive vaccines not approved by the World Health Organization in Mexico, such as China’s CanSino and Russia’s Sputnik V.

“I never imagined that I would not be able to cross because I was vaccinated with CanSino,” lamented Donato Suarez, a guide at a private university in Tijuana who expected to visit relatives in the United States who had barely seen two. years.

“We also planned to do something when the border reopened,” he added, noting that about 300 people are in the same situation where he works. “We’ll have to wait.”