Clearly US Border Patrol agents are far more concerned with people coming into the country than they are with people trying to get out. But does that mean they aren’t concerned at all? If someone were seen sneaking through the fence going south, is the Border Patrol just going to look the other way? Or are they going to apprehend the person and ask questions?
Also, does Mexico have its own Border Patrol (at the US border), keeping an eye out for, say, Gringos on the lam?
Have you ever driven from San Ysidro (San Diego) into Tijuana? Or walked in? They have customs (Aduana), but nothing like a counterpart to the US border patrol. Last time I drove in, (granted, a while ago), I didn’t even have to stop. (However, if your vehicle looks suspicious, they might pull you over, which is what happened to this guy who was jailed by Mexican authorities for bringing weapons into Mexico by accident.) I think if a “gringo on the lam” goes into Mexico, it’s the regular Mexican police who go after him or her, usually at the request of U.S. authorities.
If you walk in, they sometimes ask you to push a button, which “randomly” lights up either red or green. If it’s green, they do a light search of your bags. But often, at least in my past experience, the red/green light isn’t even in operation.
Regarding areas further inland (rural areas): It’s my understanding that the US Border Patrol usually operates a certain distance from the actual border, and they’re looking for people heading north, anyway, so I doubt they’ll even notice you if you want to walk into Mexico in that kind of area. As far as I know, in those areas there isn’t any kind of routine patrol, on the part of Mexican authorities, for people coming into Mexico.
For a white American, getting INTO Mexico is absurdly easy. Go to any border town, cross the bridge, and you’re in. Most of the time, no one will even ask for any ID.
Voila! You’re in.
Of course, I’ve never tried to get a job or an apartment there, and have no idea how easy or hard that would be. But just getting in is a breeze.
This.
At the height of the drug war thing we walked right into Nuevo Progreso, right past the Mexican army that was set up and nobody blinked.
The Mexican military has an insanely high presence near the border and I assume they’d probably want to have a word with you if they saw you sneaking across outside a crossing.
One thing to keep in mind though, it’s easy as an American to get into the 25 KM border zone. If you go beyond that, you’re supposed to buy a tourist permit and (except in Baja) a temporary vehicle importation permit. Both of those rules are pretty commonly ignored, but every once in a while they’ll check for them at the ubiquitous police and military roadside checkpoints. I’ve heard stories of people wayyyy down the peninsula getting sent all the way back to Tijuana to buy a tourist permit, and I imagine your car would probably get impounded for some length of time if you got caught without the TVIP on the mainland.
Mexico also protects their southern borders. Migration from Guatemala is a problem. People do attempt to sneak into Mexico. I’m not sure if the Belize border is as bad aside from drug smuggling.
I think the entirety of Sonora is now permit free, or at least you can get the free or low-cost Sonora-only sticker instead of the whole-country sticker.
I can’t attest to getting a job (I’ve always already had one), but renting a house or apartment is just a matter of signing the lease and leaving a deposit. One thing that’s tricky about Mexico, though, is that there generally aren’t “apartment management companies,” so you’re stuck trying to deal with individual owners when trying to find a place.
When I was vacationing in San Diego, I took the streetcar that goes to the border, crossed over on foot and never saw any official. I spent less than an hour there and then it took over a half hour to cross in the other direction.
For some reason, this situation reminds me of Germany Schaefer stealing first base.
When I flew into Mexico city 16 months ago, we had to push the button. I saw it light up green for the family in front of us, and it lit up green for us and we boarded the connecting flight to Puerto Escondido. I didn’t hang around to see if it lit up red for anyone else. Just a point of clarification: it’s one button push per family, not per person. Also, each family has to fill out of a customs declaration form.
FWIW, when we flew back from Puerto Escondido to Mexico City, they opened up everyone’s luggage and did some kind of residue spectroscopy test, which I assume was looking for evidence of explosives.
It’s a good idea to read up on what’s forbidden BEFORE you go to Mexico. You might find some of the answers surprising. For example, carrying a pocket knife can get you arrested in Mexico. http://www.travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/mexico.html
Yo soy un americano spectacularr. Yo necesito un fireworko spectacularr.
If you tried to cross in at an unusual slot, as opposed to just waking in at a normal port of entry, I wonder us the USBP would be more likely to stop you while still in the US. Lots of cameras and motion detectors and vibration sensors.
Here’s a video of that crossing, which I asked a friend of mine to make last Saturday. (He often goes to Tijuana on business.) Not exactly a “high military presence”—just two kids in fatigues leaning against the wall, looking on indifferently. Notice (at about 00:35 into the video) that he didn’t have to press the customs button, (seen in the yellow box on the left), so no check of bags. And no one’s asking for ID. The whole process, from the turnstile to getting past the check point, takes 45 seconds. Compare that to the one- to two-hour wait in line when you come back in the other direction.
If that’s what they have at the regular crossing, I doubt there’s much of a presence in the uninhabited areas out east in the mountains and deserts, for example between Jacumba and Mexicali.
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If you tried to cross in at an unusual slot, as opposed to just waking in at a normal port of entry, I wonder us the USBP would be more likely to stop you while still in the US. Lots of cameras and motion detectors and vibration sensors.
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It’s likely; they might think it’s someone who tried to come in to the U.S. illegally and now is going back to evade capture.
I remember crossing into Tijuana before 9-11, when the pedestrian crossing was on the other side of the road. If you crossed on a week night, after 8:00pm or so, there would usually be nobody at all on the Mexican side—sometimes an Aduana guy just standing there, but often nobody at all. However, if you crossed on a Friday or Saturday night, sometimes the San Diego police would be on the U.S. side, checking the ID of the younger people crossing into Tijuana, some of whom were presumably going there to drink underage. This was something I never could understand. What authority did a local police department have to stop someone leaving the country and demand their ID? Granted, underage drinking was (and probably still is) indeed a problem, but I never could find an answer to that question.
There are some things that it’s forbidden for Americans to do, even if they go to another country where it’s legal. Sex with people under the age of 18 is one, and I guess aiding certain ‘enemy’ political groups might be another. I was not under the impression that underage drinking (which of course wouldn’t be underage in Mexico) is one.
The Mexican military has a presence on the border. I wouldn’t call it insane though considering the crime and drug lords. I’m sure many in the area would prefer it to be much higher.
Even if it were, these were not people who had already been drinking. Presumably the police were not going to allow them to leave the country if they were under 21.* You cannot sanction someone for a crime that has not even occurred. What would this be? Conspiracy to get drunk?
*The only thing I can imagine is that if the person is under 18, they could be prevented from leaving the country without a parent or guardian. Otherwise, why would a 20-year old be disallowed freedom of movement when a 22-year is not? Just because a local police department assumes they’re going to drink in another country?
Probably easier than it would be for an American fleeing the oppression of Portland than immigrating to Canada. Especially if they lack a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and a plumbers certificate I’d imagine.
I doubt very much that the US boarder patrol gives two figs for anyone trying to sneak into Mexico. They can hardly be bothered with the folks going the other direction.
That isn’t even illegal in most of the US, so I find it hard to believe it is illegal to do overseas.
The US Protect act of 2003 Authorizes fines and/or imprisonment for up to 30 years for U.S. citizens or residents who engage in illicit sexual conduct abroad. For the purposes of this law, illicit sexual conduct is defined as commercial sex with or sexual abuse of anyone under 18, or any sex with anyone under 16.