SAN YSIDRO- Businesses along the southern border have been severely impacted by non-essential travel restrictions, which are set to end Nov. 8. This resulted in the closure of some 276 businesses in San Ysidro, according to the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce.
“San Ysidro is the hardest hit community in San Diego due to these border restrictions and the hardest hit border communities in the country due to these border restrictions,” said Jason Wells, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. of San Ysidro.
The Office of Customs and Border Protection confirmed on Thursday that border restrictions for non-essential travelers and people with visas who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will end on November 8.
The difficulties affect the owner of Tacos La Frontera, a once crowded taco shop along San Ysidro Boulevard.
The decision to close was forced by the pandemic and the impact of border restrictions. The 74-year-old business owner, affectionately known as “Doña Hilda,” has worked hard during the pandemic to try to keep the restaurant within walking distance of Tijuana.
“It’s sad that it’s a family restaurant, the mother, the matriarch of the family was there every day and we saw a few months ago that they were reducing the days of the week to stay,” Wells said. . “It eventually got to the point where they had no more customers, so they couldn’t have a business.”
The streets of San Ysidro Boulevard no longer look the same as before the border was closed to non-essential travellers.
This is a new requirement for the reopening of the border between Mexico and the United States.
Olivia Campos owns Carolin shoes in San Ysidro, where she has barely hung on, citing her reason for survival is working seven days a week, 10 hours a day.
According to the Chamber of Commerce, 95% of San Ysidro’s small business customers come from Mexico on tourist visas and approximately 65% of those customers are those visiting Las Americas Premium Outlets.
NBC 7’s Melissa Adan and Telemundo 20’s Gilberto Dorrego discussed how the 19-month border closure has affected local communities in South County and Mexicali. The announcement of the reopening of the Biden administration is good news.
“Businesses are like family to me and I always try to handle it like family and I think that’s what works for me,” Campos said.
Travelers crossing for non-essential travel at the reopened port of entry must be fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
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