Every day, thousands of people enter the United States by car or foot from Tijuana to Otay Mesa. Otay Mesa is a port of entry that is one of the most fortified and heavily guarded border crossings in the world. Still, fentanyl continues to flow in in one form or another.
In recent years, this intersection and another several miles west in San Ysidro have played a key role in America’s addiction crisis. Federal border officials in San Diego seized about 11,400 pounds of illegal fentanyl last year, much of it in Otay Mesa.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, seizures around San Diego decreased in 2024, but the agency still finds thousands of counterfeit pills manufactured by cartels hidden in doors and wheels or mixed into imported goods. They say they regularly intercept vehicles heading north on Highway 5. Inside of a shipping container.
Fentanyl and the border have become key issues for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is trying to navigate his relationship with President-elect Trump, who has accused Democrats of failing to get tougher on smugglers. Next January, President Trump will again take over oversight of CBP and other federal agencies responsible for immigration and drug enforcement. Federal funds support state efforts, and local agencies often work with national authorities on investigations and response to critical incidents.
So far, Newsom has tried to thread the needle by touting the economic benefits of trade with Mexico through California while continuing to tout the state’s efforts on border enforcement.
On Thursday, the governor visited San Diego County to announce a road project to bring motorists to an additional border crossing called Otay Mesa East, which is being built about two miles from the main port of entry.
During his visit, he said his office would “strengthen border security to build on the state’s fight to curb the flow of fentanyl, targeting guns and cash that flows south and furthers cartel interests and violence.” and touted the efforts of the California National Guard. ”
Standing in front of a towering, rust-colored border wall, Newsom announced plans to increase the number of California National Guard troops supporting federal border enforcement efforts.
“We’re going to ramp up that operation,” Newsom said, adding that some National Guard troops have already been deployed, including a group of uniformed soldiers who stood nearby during the speech.
California Governor Gavin Newsom greets members of the California National Guard during a press conference near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry along the Mexico border in San Diego, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
(Gregory Bull/Associated Press)
Despite President Trump’s rhetoric that an “immigrant invasion” is underway, the reality is that illegal immigration is more severe than ever.
This year, the Biden administration largely eliminated political asylum pathways for those attempting to cross the border without documents. As a result, the number of border encounters nationwide plummeted from a peak of 370,000 in December 2023 to 205,000 in June, according to CBP data.
Federal authorities say fentanyl overdoses appear to be on the decline, but seizures of the drug by CBP’s San Diego field office fell by half last year to 5,700 pounds. Trump and his allies have tried to link drugs and immigration, but data shows that from 2019 to 2024, 80% of people caught with fentanyl at border crossings were Americans.
Vanda Felbab Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said authorities cannot search all the semi-trucks loaded with agricultural products, electronics, cars and other goods from Mexico, so Otay Mesa He said crowded ports of entry such as the United States have become major smuggling corridors. .
“If you go through legal ports, you have legal trade, but if you inspect every vehicle, you can’t have trade,” she said. “It is an illusion that we can get 100% tested.”
A bipartisan immigration bill that was rejected by Congress earlier this year at the request of President Trump would have provided millions of dollars to significantly increase the number of vehicles crossing the border that authorities could inspect. But that won’t stop cartels from flooding the United States with fentanyl, Felbab-Brown said. It’s simply a company with too much profit.
“Prior to this bill, the United States was able to inspect approximately 2% of private vehicles and 20% to 30% of trailer trucks,” she said. “If fully funded, 70% of the trailer trucks and probably 20% of the private cars would be available.”
On Thursday, Newsom previewed progress on Otay Mesa East, which is scheduled to open in December 2027.
Newsom’s office, also known as Otay II, said the new crossing would have significant economic benefits and “has the potential” to cut border wait times in half.
The intersection was expected to be completed as early as 2026, but Newsom said negotiations over its operation and future toll revenue were the main cause of the long delay.
In remarks near the border wall Thursday, Newsom also said the country has “applied to the U.S. Department of State to formalize a National Guard partnership very similar to what we have in Ukraine.” He said the military provided support and training to the Mexican military.
Bill Bodnar, a former special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles field division, said he supports redirecting personnel and other resources from other parts of the country to the southern border, where fentanyl He said the majority was smuggled into the United States.
But Bodnar said there are limits to what the state can do. Ultimately, border security and immigration enforcement fall to federal authorities, and billions of taxpayer dollars are already being spent on these efforts.
“I’m not a big fan of all these working groups and task forces,” Bodnar said. “The resources are already there. The problem is getting people to work.”
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