Coronavirus border travel restrictions start to impact daily life

Martin Arce, a Tijuana factory worker, spent the past week manufacturing respirators that are being shipped throughout the U.S. to fight to coronavirus pandemic.

Work was so hectic, that Arce didn’t have time to pay his phone bill. Because unlimited plans are cheaper in San Diego than they are in Tijuana, Arce has a plan from Cricket Wireless. And because his phone is now shut off and he doesn’t have a computer, Arce has to cross the border to pay his bill in person.

But when he tried to cross through the San Ysidro Port of Entry Saturday morning, Arce was turned away because of new restrictions prohibiting “non-essential” cross-border travel.

The restrictions, announced Friday by President Donald Trump, went into effect just after midnight Eastern time Saturday — 9 p.m. Friday here. The goal is to stem the spread of the coronavirus by limiting cross-border travel while still protecting trade and commerce. A similar deal is in place with Canada.

U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, people with work visas, and those traveling for education or medical reasons are still allowed to travel freely across the border with proper documentation.

The travel restrictions created an unusually quiet scene at the border Saturday morning.

The sidewalks, usually bustling with people running errands, were empty, as were the pedestrian lanes into San Diego. The Tijuana street vendors — normally running in-between cars to sell candies, sombreros and other trinkets — slouched next to their merchandise as they waited for northbound customers.

Wait times for pedestrians clocked in at less than 10 minutes, while cars waited less than 20.

Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan hailed the rollout of the measure on Twitter Saturday: “Ports of entry seeing reductions in pedestrian & vehicle traffic while trade continues to flow! Everyone is going their part to stop the spread!”

U.S. citizens and green-card holders who crossed into San Diego Saturday morning noted that the new travel restrictions had virtually no direct impact on them.

“It’s business as usual,” said Neil Adams, a U.S. citizen who was coming back to San Diego after a couple of days of eating fresh lobster and visiting family in Rosarito.

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico March 20th, 2020 | A man speaks with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers before being allowed to cross. At the San Ysidro Pedeast border crossing. | (Alejandro Tamayo, The San Diego Union Tribune 2020)

(Alejandro Tamayo/Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union Tribune)

But for many others whose lives straddle both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border — such as Arce — the restrictions are already having an impact.

Maria Guadalupe Garcia, 63, flew from Guadalajara to Tijuana Saturday morning. She came to help watch her grandchildren in San Diego while their mother works from home.

The grandkids are 5 and 6 years old. They require so much attention that their mother cannot get any work done.

“I was going to help,” said Garcia, who had a suitcase full of clothes with her.

As soon as Garcia told U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents that she was on a tourist visa, they turned her away without event asking to see it.

While walking away from the border, Garcia got a phone call from her daughter asking if she made it through.

Officials told her that the travel restrictions will be in place for at least 30 days and can be extended if the coronavirus situation worsens.

“They told me I couldn’t go in at least a month, can you believe it?” she told her daughter.

A short time later, Jose Salazar was also turned back.

He was on his way to pick up a care package that relatives from Salinas had sent to his post office box in San Diego. The package included diapers, a stroller and other supplies for his pregnant wife.

Until the restrictions are lifted, all of those things will simply sit in storage, Salazar said.

“I can’t really do anything about that,” he said.

The restrictions will also impact those who use tourist visas to cross the border and unlawfully work under the table — cooking in restaurants, mowing lawns and cleaning houses in the U.S.

The new travel restrictions were not as heavily enforced for people traveling from the U.S. into Mexico at San Ysidro Saturday morning.

A San Diego Union-Tribune reporter crossing south walked by Mexican customs officials without showing a passport or being asked any questions about the purpose of the trip.