Asylum-seekers face anxious wait at border

At the Otay Mesa port of entry, about 16 kilometers east of San Ysidro, there were also no signs of asylum seekers.

A woman working for a McDonald's outlet about a four-minute walk from the entry point, who gave her name only as Annalee, said she had never seen any asylum seekers near the border.

She and her family have lived in Tijuana and worked in the US for many years.

"Waiting time at the port of entry is two or three hours now. It was 10 or 15 minutes in the past," she said, adding that this is inconvenient, but it would be unimaginable if the border was shut down.

On the Mexican side of the border, long lines of cars wait to cross.

Manuel Gutierrez, who cleans cars at a parking lot near the border, said, "These people are going to work afternoon shifts in the US." He spoke in fluent English because he used to work in the US.

"A very good apartment on the Mexican side costs about $200 a month, but the rent for similar apartment in San Diego is between $2,000 and $3,000 a month," he said.

Migrants had never approached this port of entry, Gutierrez said. They used to stay in a makeshift shelter in a stadium, but because it was close to the border, the Mexican authorities closed it and put them in warehouses farther away.