Long Wait Times at the Border Continue After Woman Dies in Line Over Weekend

Customs and Border Protection said it was implementing a new policy to reduce nonessential travel because of the spread of COVID-19

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Wait times early Monday morning to cross into San Diego from Tijuana at the San Ysidro Port of Entry were as long as several hours -- in fact, many people began to line up Sunday night after learning of significant delays over the weekend.

One Anaheim woman told NBC 7 that she had been waiting since 9 p.m. with her children: โ€œI thought it was going to go fast around 2 a.m. and it didnโ€™t. It was shocking.โ€

Another Southern California woman told us she had waited nine hours: โ€œItโ€™s tense, itโ€™s hot, itโ€™s frustrating.โ€

On Sunday around noon an 89-year-old woman became unresponsive and died as she waited in a car to cross the border into the U.S. with her family. They said they had been waiting in line for 6-7 hours.  Police said it appears the elderly woman went into cardiac arrest.

One driver waiting in line told NBC 7โ€™s sister station, Telemundo 20, โ€œI feel for her and her family. It shouldnโ€™t happen,โ€ adding, โ€œItโ€™s too hot for anyone to be out here.โ€

The long wait times began at the border after Customs and Border Protection put a new policy in place on Aug. 21. They said it was to reduce nonessential travel because of the spread of COVID-19.

โ€œIn response to the health crisis and to protect communities by the border, CBP is taking measures to discourage nonessential border crossing to and from Mexico,โ€ the agency said in a statement sent to NBC 7.

Customs and Border Protection said anyone not deemed essential must go through a secondary screening. According to CBP, a recent survey of 100,000 travelers found that more than 60% were not deemed essential.

The policy is also in place at other San Diego border crossings including Otay Mesa and Calexico West.

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