Way off on a tangent…
Yesterday my wife and I went a few miles south from where we are staying this winter over the border into Reynosa, Tamilipas, Mexico to pick up some Ozempic (about $130/month’s worth). Five minutes to cross the bridge over the Rio Bravo and onto the streets of Reynosa, 20 minutes of sightseeing, a quick stop at a reputable pharmacy, and then back in the border crossing line to Hidalgo, Texas. One hour and 32 minutes later (a very typical time spent waiting to in line to cross) we are getting screened and our cards checked by a U.S. customs agent.
“What was the purpose of your visit?”
“To see what kind of clusterfuck Trump had created at the border.”
“No other reason, no visit to a restaurant, no shopping, buying any medications, nothing but sightseeing?”
“Like I said, just to see the clusterfuck Trump had made of the border.”
They know how long you are in Mexico because they electronically and photographically monitor your vehicle and you as you head south over the border.
After consulting with another agent they had me pull over to the secondary inspection area where we were ordered to exit our car and go into the customs waiting room. This had only happened one other time in my 55 years of border crossing. There was one other woman waiting in the waiting room where we sat for about 15 minutes until my car’s alarm system went off and the agent came in to ask for my key fob. I gave him my fob after I had dismissed the alarm. A minute later he came in to tell us we were free to leave.
Fortunately my Ozempic was in my wife’s purse and they did not check it although my wife saw them going through another woman’s purse when we were headed for the waiting room. I’m sure lying to a federal agent is probably a felony. Next time she (a dual citizen) will carry the Ozempic again but not in its box and we will dispose of the receipt before crossing and I will not characterize what my opinion is about what is happening at the border just in case they would then decide to confiscate my Ozempic. Ozempic is not a controlled drug, no Rx needed to buy it in Mexico (thus over the counter) so she can buy it and bring it across as a Mexican for her use. Anyway, I shut the hood on my car and off we went.
Several days ago there was an article in the WaPo about a six hour wait at the border (
https://wapo.st/4iqTNZt last paragraph ) due to the inspections on northbound vehicles by the Mexican authorities. This long wait had ended after businesses complained about losing business. We had crossed north early last month and were inspected which was something post-inauguration but it didn’t increase the typical wait time. The Mexican authorities inspected us this time, too. They were set up in the waiting line and had enough people to do four vehicles at a time. Both of us had to exit the car, open the trunk but not the hood like last time, a quick look around the trunk and cabin and we were on our way. No questions, no need to present documents; very much a performative inspection unlike the 15 minute one on the U.S. side.
