NOGALES, AZ — Cars were bumper to bumper during the day in Nogales, waiting to get into Mexico through the DeConcini Port of Entry.
However, the line wasn’t long and it was typical for a Monday, with much of the traffic dying down to just a few cars at night. Those cars got through the port within minutes.
RELATED: Lukeville port of entry closed as CBP reassigns personnel to deal with migrant surge
“Mostly what you see every weekend or most of the days,” Jaime Gomez, who lives in Nogales, Mexico, said about the cars.
People who live on the Mexico side, but come to the Arizona side of Nogales for errands and business, say traffic was worse last month.
“The line to cross went for like four streets straight. There was a whole four lines of people. Right now it’s really quick. Surprisingly fast, more than usual,” Nogales, Mexico, resident Aurick Villalpando described.
He claims traffic is usually bad during the holidays, but says Monday’s traffic was calmer.
Carol Pfister tells KGUN 9 she was visiting Nogales, Mexico, from Green Valley and doing errands.
“Coming back, we only had a half hour in line, so that was ecstatic,” she shared about her experience.
Nevertheless, it’s not the traffic that’s worrying Nogales, Arizona's Mayor Jorge Maldonado. He says he's worried about travelers who are going to and from Rocky Point in Sonora, Mexico.
“There’s some stretches of highway from Rocky Point to Nogales that are kind of dangerous,” Maldonado said.
People also have the option of getting to Rocky Point through the San Luis Port near Yuma, but that would take people out of the way if they were coming from the Tucson metro area.
Maldonado says since Rocky Point depends on the people visiting there from the U.S., he’s hoping the Lukeville port closing doesn’t affect Rocky Point’s tourism, especially during the holidays.
The dangerous activity on the highways to Rocky Point is why he says he called the governor of Sonora and asked him to put more law enforcement around this highway.
“So, people will feel safe traveling all the way to Nogales,” Maldonado said.
