CONTINUING COVERAGE: Visitors head to San Luis Port of Entry as border reopens
Many surprised by short wait - News 11's Cody Lee and CBS 13's Arlette Yousif report
SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - For the first time in over a year and a half the United States borders have fully reopened but there is one major exception. Non-U.S. citizens can now cross through any port of entry but only if they are fully vaccinated.
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t too busy at the San Luis Port of Entry Monday morning. Most of the people we spoke to say they didn’t have to wait very long at all.
“Well today there was no line at all but sometimes it's been long. Like an hour or more,” Jennifer Villa, a San Luis, Arizona said.
Claudia Diaz is from Mexicali but she chose to use this port instead.
“From Mexicali, I came here because usually there are a little fewer people there since last night they have been lining up. The lines for her are huge in Mexicali, so I said no, I'd better come to San Luis,” Díaz said.
Along with the necessary documents needed to enter the country, customs and border protection is requiring non-U.S. travelers to bring proof of vaccination or they will not be able to get in.
San Luis Rio Colorado resident Delfina Quintero says she had no issues at the port.
“Very kind the officer just asked me about the vaccines, if I had them and I said yes, that the voucher is about and he did not ask me for anything,” Quintero said.
Anyone over the age of 18 has to be fully vaccinated. Minors, however, do not need to show proof of vaccination but they must be accompanied by an adult who has the shot.
The family seems to be a driving force for many at the border. Jennifer Villa lives in the states and goes to Mexico every weekend to visit her dad. She says usually there are long lines, but today, there was no wait.
"I think for us, it’s, like, more easily because they don’t ask us like, any, just, oh '“why do you come to Mexico? What do you have right now?”' like, '“what are you bringing back?”' explains Villa.
After so many restrictions over the last nearly two years, people are slowly shifting their lives once again.
For U.S. citizens, if you are traveling using a land port of entry, you are not required to be vaccinated. This means when you come back into the U.S., CBP officials will not need to verify if you have gotten the vaccine.
