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TxMex

Nov 19, 2011, 2:08 PM

Post #1 of 20 (2287 views)

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Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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I often go to the tiny border town of Ojinaga, Chih. I haven't been there in at least 8 months. Oh boy have things changed! Much tighter security. Before, it was rare to be pulled to the side and asked for documents. Yesterday they were pulling over at least 3 out of every 5 vehicles. Including yours truly! I didn't know you need the same documents to just visit a border town that you need to proceed on into Mexico....this has changed. I got a royal chewing out for not having my vehicle registration(when did they start asking for that?!) and my insurance card. Thank goodness I had my passport with me. Also, thankfully I now have enough Spanish to grovel. The officer let me proceed after I repeatedly assured him that I'd be in Ojinaga less than an hour and that I would be sure to have my documents in order next time....lo siento!!!
It actually took longer to get into Mexico than it did to return to the USA. Though it still takes them longer to pass me through the border on the US side than it does for them to pass a Mexican through the border. And geesh!.....can't they hire some folks that English is their first language to work the border station?!! My understanding is that the majority of the people that work the border station are Mexicans working here with a green card. Crazy!

RickS

Nov 19, 2011, 3:03 PM

Post #2 of 20 (2261 views)

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Re: [TxMex] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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My worst experienes in returning to the US have been at that Ojinaga/Presidio Tx crossing. Actually all my other crossings have been non-events and the agents have been helpful and courteous. But twice at the Presidio crossing I drew very arrogant and surly agents. While they were of Hispanic origin ('everyone' at that border is) I presumed they were US citizens if they were working as a border control agent. They spoke perfect English and used it to intimidate and bully me. The last time thru I did not really know if I was going to be allowed to continue.... or worse end up in serious trouble (I mistakenly told the agent I had 3 bottles of booze when I actually had four.... one that a friend had stashed in my car to bring back to her!). A great deal of the surliness came before he found the extra bottle but afterwards he became downright arrogant. He made me pull out of line and sit there for 20-30 minutes (during which time he was not busy with other cars!) before he came over to continue his 'search'. It seemed to displease him that he did not find anything else to chide me about.

Anyway, I'll go INTO Mexico that way again if the occasion presents itself, but I will NEVER cross out there again.

Minerva909

Nov 19, 2011, 5:45 PM

Post #3 of 20 (2232 views)

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Re: [RickS] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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Living in souther Texas (on and off) I often traveled to the border town of Nuevo Progresso for some shopping, dental work, buying glasses. The population of this area is over 90% Hispanic, so it is no surprise that practically all of them are bilingual. I never had any troubles at the border, but often had to wave my non-US passport to the immigration's agents at posts further inland. They were just waving me through ( I happen to be blond and blueeyed, so they did not expect me to be a foreigner), but I knew it would be illegal for me to let myself being waved through without my passport and green card being inspected, so I always insisted on stopping, my car being sniffed briefly by drug dogs why the agents quickly glanced at my documents and then made me proceed.

(This post was edited by Minerva909 on Nov 20, 2011, 8:57 AM)

TxMex

Nov 19, 2011, 7:03 PM

Post #4 of 20 (2219 views)

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Re: [RickS] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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I'm absolutely serious about Mexican nationals working that particular border crossing. If ever you(or the jerk you were married to) tick them off....you get sent over to the left side for your car to be x-rayed.....every single danged time you cross there! Very arrogant and not at all pleasant to try and work with.

The fella that tells you to step out of your car and stand on the other side of the blue line(in the x-ray line) doesn't speak any English. Yes, I sat in my car until they got someone out there that speaks English to tell me that...though I speak Spanish. Going through the entire song and dance every time I came back across the border made me a bit cranky. I used to live in the area and crossed frequently. Judging by yesterday, I'd say they still have my passport flagged. There just isn't much they can search on a motorcycle, so he finally let me go.

norteño

Nov 19, 2011, 8:40 PM

Post #5 of 20 (2194 views)

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Re: [TxMex] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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All CBP law enforcement and inspectional personnel are U. S. citizens and speak English.

Altahabana

Nov 20, 2011, 6:42 AM

Post #6 of 20 (2143 views)

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Re: [TxMex] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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U.S. citizenship is a mandatory, non-waivable requirement for employment as a CBP officer. In my experience the attitude of officers ranges from chatty/friendly to arrogant/rude. Most are simply indifferent and matter of fact.

I cross 5-7 times a week in Laredo/Nuevo Laredo and have not noticed any signficant change in security procedures on either side.

TxMex

Nov 20, 2011, 1:20 PM

Post #7 of 20 (2088 views)

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Re: [norteño] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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I am fairly certain I did not stutter....as I am typing that would be difficult. It is possible that they are considered contract labor and so are outside of any technicality that requires them to be American citizens. I assure you I am not mistaken on this.

Reefhound

Nov 20, 2011, 4:19 PM

Post #8 of 20 (2050 views)

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Re: [TxMex] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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Did you check their ID? They are Mexican nationals because they would only speak Spanish? Maybe they were just refusing to speak to you in English for some reason?

RickS

Nov 20, 2011, 6:57 PM

Post #9 of 20 (2016 views)

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Re: [TxMex] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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I wonder if this might be the situation.....

When I last crossed at that border, there was first the agent in a 'booth'. That is the guy (actually guys... twice) who was arrogant and surly with me. After he had his 'fun' with me, he sent me on further into the compound where I had to have my car Xray'd. The men who did that seemed to be just 'workers' and maybe not actually CBP agents. They spoke English to me. I mention this as you said it was the person who was in charge of xraying you that did not speak English.

An interesting side to my trip through the xray machine......

I was driving a Toyota Prius... a hybrid. These cars were fairly new to the US at the time. They were actually xraying the cars but not any people. I was told to step out of the vehicle and stand behind a line. I did so. This big machine came up to the Prius and went around the car. They stopped it, talked, and had the machine go around the car again. They talked some more. Then one of them called to me, "come here". I started that way and another guy, away from them, called out, "Hey, get back behind that line!". Confused, I said, "they told me to come there". He looked pissed and motioned me on.

Anyway, when I got to the car they asked me questions about it. They were getting a reading of 'liquid' and wanted to know why. I was stumped for a second but then said, 'it's a hybrid.... it's got a big battery that would have water in it. They said, 'where is it' and I showed them the location. They smiled and said, "OK, you can go!". Having already paid the tax for the booze I had brought in, I jumped in my car and took off. My original intent was to stop for lunch there in Presidio, but I decided I needed to put some miles between me and all those guys so I drove all the way to Marfa before I stopped.

(This post was edited by RickS on Nov 20, 2011, 7:01 PM)

Altahabana

Nov 21, 2011, 4:57 AM

Post #10 of 20 (1980 views)

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Re: [TxMex] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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In Reply To

And why might you not be mistaken? Because someone told you that?

The requirements for employment as a CBP officer are not secret and are published on the CBP--Homeland Security website. I doubt CBP hires contract labor to perform its core functions.

(This post was edited by Altahabana on Nov 21, 2011, 5:44 AM)

TxMex

Nov 22, 2011, 8:23 AM

Post #11 of 20 (1871 views)

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Re: [Altahabana] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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You might also be mistaken. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that I lived in the area for a long time. Might be I know more about this particular place than you do.

TxMex

Nov 22, 2011, 8:33 AM

Post #12 of 20 (1869 views)

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Re: [RickS] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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In Reply To

I wonder if this might be the situation.....

When I last crossed at that border, there was first the agent in a 'booth'. That is the guy (actually guys... twice) who was arrogant and surly with me. After he had his 'fun' with me, he sent me on further into the compound where I had to have my car Xray'd. The men who did that seemed to be just 'workers' and maybe not actually CBP agents. They spoke English to me. I mention this as you said it was the person who was in charge of xraying you that did not speak English.

This is what I wonder also. I don't see how they could get away with it otherwise.

Also, though I assume the folks that are manning the primary booths that you pass through are indeed US citizens, that does not necessarily mean that their first language is English!! I have fussed at several friends of mine for this very thing. They speak Spanish only in the home...though they speak English just fine. The children do not learn English until they got to school. To me this must be scary for the poor kids. I have tried to explain that starting at around a year old children are little language sponges and could learn both languages, but to no avail.

In some communities on the border here, Spanish is so prevalent that most people only rarely speak English. I've been here for over a week visiting and I'm speaking Spanish at least 3/4 of the time. The 1/4 of the time I'm speaking English it is with white folks.

Altahabana

Nov 22, 2011, 9:10 AM

Post #13 of 20 (1854 views)

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Re: [TxMex] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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In Reply To

You might also be mistaken. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that I lived in the area for a long time. Might be I know more about this particular place than you do.

I'm sure you know more about the Presidio crossing than I do, but I am pretty familiar with CBP since I have to deal with them in my work on a regular basis. I can also read the requirements for employment and they are quite specific on this issue. US citizenship is a uniform requirement not subject to local variation. A naturalized US citizen qualifies, but resident aliens do not.

Also I have been crossing almost daily at various places up and down the border for nearly six years and I have yet to encounter a CBP officer who did not speak fluent English.

I think your main point was that you were treated rudely and I have no doubt that did happen.

Reefhound

Nov 22, 2011, 10:12 AM

Post #14 of 20 (1842 views)

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Re: [TxMex] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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In Reply To

You might also be mistaken. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that I lived in the area for a long time. Might be I know more about this particular place than you do.

Perhaps but you never answered the question as to how you *know* they are not citizens...

Altahabana

Nov 23, 2011, 4:42 AM

Post #15 of 20 (1750 views)

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Re: [Reefhound] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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Not that it is particularly important, but there is no "perhaps" about it. The requirements for employment as a CBP officer are not matters of opinion, they are verifiable facts. On the issue of language, extensive written testing is part of the selection process which would virtually eliminate non-fluent English speakers from consideration. Fluency in Spanish or the aptitude to learn Spanish (determined by testing) is also a requirement for employment.

kwatts7304

Nov 23, 2011, 9:33 PM

Post #16 of 20 (1654 views)

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Re: [Altahabana] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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I am not sure I want to even comment on this one. lol. But I thought that you had to be a Mexican citizen if you were entering Mexico and a US citizen when you were entering the US to work at the border. I have never been to Mexico but I did travel quite a bit between Alaska/Canada/ and Washington. When I entered Canada, it was with a Canadian citizen and when I entered Washington, it was a US citizen checking my info. Once when I entered through North Dakota (into US) it was actually a military person checking my info. So, it may depend on what side you are crossing into. I would think that each country would want to protect their own interests on their borders with their own personnel. Just my two cents. :)

Kim

Altahabana

Nov 24, 2011, 5:15 AM

Post #17 of 20 (1632 views)

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Re: [kwatts7304] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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The requirements for employment are published on the CBP website in several places in the Career Sections. This is from the FAQ portion.

http://www.cbp.gov/...tory_back_invest.xml

careyeroslib

Nov 24, 2011, 12:22 PM

Post #18 of 20 (1576 views)

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Re: [Altahabana] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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Any chance we could continue this discussion in another thread?

We´ll be crossing the border again for a bit soon, and everytime I come on and see that the heading "Much tighter security at the border yesterday" has had more posts, I think I age a couple of years :) I think "oh oh, what now?"

Altahabana

Nov 24, 2011, 1:05 PM

Post #19 of 20 (1565 views)

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Re: [careyeroslib] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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I cross nearly every day in Nuevo Laredo/Laredo. I have not noticed any difference in security measures on either side. Sometimes security is heightened at specific crossings because of purely local issues. But nothing has changed in NL/Laredo except traffic flow because of the 20 noviembre and Thanksgiving holidays.

robt65

Nov 27, 2011, 5:48 AM

Post #20 of 20 (1432 views)

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Re: [careyeroslib] Much tighter security at the border yesterday

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I also cross many times in the year in both directions, surely not as often as Altahabana, and I also have never had such problems. I, most often have a two axle enclosed cargo trailer with me. Most often traveling north into the USA, the trailer is empty except for some ratchet tie downs and a rather large 4 X 4 X 5 foot heavy duty plastic box with my spare car and trailer parts in case of a breakdown. I would safely say about 4 out of five trips I am asked to proceed to the X Ray area. They have always been very polite and business like. I usually cross at the Anzalduas International Bridge, in both directions, since this bridge has rather lite traffic; I breeze through in either direction.

robt65