Federal agents patrolling the world’s busiest border crossing have a new tool to help them move travelers through quickly while still screening documents and focusing on border safety.
Eight new pedestrian kiosks are in place at the San Ysidro Port of Entry at the U.S.- Mexico border between Tijuana and San Diego.
The technology, considered a first of its kind being used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, allows for a pedestrian border crosser to scan his or her own documents before meeting a CBP officer.
No longer will the CBP agent manually scan the document while at the same time focus on the individual to spot a potential security threat like drug smuggling or identity theft.
What’s new for the CBP is that when a document is scanned at San Ysidro, it will feed into several different processing stations not just one, as it is at other border crossing locations.
The kiosks are at five other locations including Nogales, El Paso, Laredo and Calexico West and Otay Mesa.
Other improvements include designated lines outside the building for those pedestrians in the Ready Lane, SENTRI and other Trusted Travelers as well as the general foot traffic.
Local
Pedestrians can also sign up for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for their U.S. passport, SENTRI/FAST/Global Entry card or newer legal permanent resident cards. Having RFID-enabled travel documents allows border crossers to use the pedestrian Ready Lane.
Ready Lane travelers at Otay Mesa wait at least half as long as other people crossing the border on foot, CBP officials said.
