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In Tijuana, the effervescence has resumed as before the pandemic since the reopening of the American land border a few days ago. Since November 8, tourists who have gone through a full vaccination process can re-enter the United States. Some people rushed to enter American soil to resume their passing habits in the border town.
From our special correspondent in Tijuana,
At the San Ysidro border post, on the Mexican side, the lines of cars are very long. Thousands of vehicles line up to cross the United States at all times of the day. Some motorists say that since the end of the restrictions, it takes about two hours to get to the other side.
One of the busiest borders in the world
The street vendors, on the side of the road, who offer all kinds of objects, food, also say that for a little over two weeks, the traffic is much more important, but also that the wait is longer. long, because the US authorities take longer to check the papers and vaccine evidence of people crossing.
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For more than a year and a half, the city of Tijuana in Mexico and its neighbor San Diego in the United States were separated. But the border is officially open again, and many Mexicans are moving to the United States to shop in malls just across the border, and even more as the holidays approach.
Several people explain that they are going to look for electronic products, designer clothes, everything that cannot be found in Mexico. Also, in the queue, there are also Mexicans who cross to find family members who live on the American side. One of them says he is traveling to San Diego to see his sister for the first time since the pandemic.
Only tourists can pass
The US border is open again, but not for everyone. While tourists can drop by to shop, asylum seekers are still stranded. So the United States has removed border restrictions for fully vaccinated people. Title 42, introduced by Donald Trump at the start of the pandemic, is still in effect.
With this measure, migrants who want to cross to file an asylum application on American soil are automatically turned back, whether they are vaccinated or not. Their request is not taken into account and they are evicted within a few hours. It is a health measure and not a migratory measure, so this title 42 is extremely criticized by migrants who feel discriminated against and by civil organizations which denounce the hypocrisy of this system.
► To read also: United States: Joe Biden on the question of immigration
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