As Central American migrants clashed with Border Patrol agents in Tijuana, Mexico over the weekend, San Luis Mayor Gerardo Sanchez said he and local law enforcement officers are monitoring the situation should anything similar happen here.
Sanchez said he has been contacted by Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials regarding Operation Secure Line. This is a hardening of border security that includes concertina wire on the border fence and the closure of two lanes of vehicle traffic at the San Luis Port of Entry.
Sanchez said he is taking a wait and see approach and asking residents to be patient with longer border crossing times and potential temporary closures.
"What happened in San Ysidro (Tijuana) might happen in San Luis," he said. "My message would be think ahead, be expecting delays."
Over on Main Street, Jose Alvarez Jimenez, 19, said he lives in Mexicali but crosses the border weekly in San Luis for work.
"I am in support of migrants seeking asylum but they need to earn it," Alvarez Jimenez said. "They can come here to work, just don't be causing problems."
Over the weekend a group of migrants rushed the San Ysidro Port of Entry and were forced back after agents fired tear gas.
