SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The Tianguis Swap Meet is an outdoor marketplace lined with brightly colored sheds along the perimeter of a newly-paved parking lot about a quarter-mile from the San Ysidro Port of Entry, but its grand opening has been on hold for more than 16 months due to the pandemic and ongoing border restrictions.
In the meantime, it is being used for long-term parking.
There was hope it would finally open later this week after border restrictions were to be lifted, but it’s not going to happen, a source tells Border Report.
While both Mexico’s Foreign Relations Office and the Department of Homeland Security have yet to issue a formal statement about lifting or keeping essential travel restrictions, an employee with Mexico’s federal government familiar with negotiations said the restrictions will remain in place for at least another few weeks due to the fact Mexico and the U.S. have yet to reach an agreement.
Border Report reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and asked if travel restrictions would be lifted in the San Diego-Tijuana area, to which a spokesperson said, “We do not have an announcement to preview at this time.”
The spokesperson attached the sam statement that was issued when travel restriction were extended on June 20: “DHS also notes positive developments in recent weeks and is participating with other U.S. agencies in the White House’s expert working groups with Canada and Mexico to identify the conditions under which restrictions may be eased safely and sustainably.”
The U.S. is reportedly demanding at least a 75-percent vaccination rate in Mexican border cities such as Tijuana. There are also reports the U.S. will not allow people from Mexico who have been vaccinated with the Chinese or Russian versions of the vaccine, something that has been denied by the Mexican government, but not the U.S.
Off-camera, employees of several businesses in San Ysidro, including Rossy’s Fashion, said they are tired of the restrictions, which prevent people from crossing the border to shop or for leisure activities.
“The vast majority of them are pedestrians on tourist visas precisely those that can’t come across today,” said Jason Wells, the chamber’s Chief Executive Director.
Wells said that 187 businesses along San Ysidro Boulevard have gone out of business since the pandemic began and restrictions were ordered.
