In Tijuana, Migrants Face Two Paths: Persecution or Employment Across the Border

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While in the United States, immigration authorities intensify raids on workplaces and shopping malls in search of undocumented immigrants, the reality at the Tijuana border is different for hundreds of Mexicans. Groups like this constantly cross the San Ysidro border crossing in an orderly and legal manner, with a work visa in hand, ready for a temporary day’s work in the US countryside.

They are primarily agricultural workers, who are part of a temporary visa program that, surprisingly this year, has outnumbered the tourist visas granted to Mexicans in this region. According to official figures, as of May of this fiscal year, 8,868 work visas like these were issued in Tijuana, more than the 8,637 tourist visas. The system is clear: they are contacted in Mexico by companies that process their permits.

“There’s an office called the CCI, where you register and are selected, and wherever they send you, you have to go to work with an H2A permit. I know of colleagues who go, but with another type of visa, I think H2B, they can work in hotels, construction,” commented Víctor Tapia, a farmworker from Nayarit.

Trust is key. For most, this isn’t their first time. Fulfilling the contract and doing a good job guarantees being called back the following year, making this trip their main source of income.

“They send each of us a personal message and arrange a meeting here in Tijuana, and then we go to Washington. We work on the cherry, pear, and apple cleaning contract. This is my fourth time going there, my fourth season,” added Onésimo Medina, a farmworker from Durango.

That certainty of having legal status and a signed contract gives them peace of mind, unlike the uncertainty faced by other migrants. The main reason for repeating the experience, they say, is the huge economic difference.

“There we are in some houses. When we arrived, there was a hotel and some cabins. “How much do they pay you per hour?” “Well, 19.85,” said Edgar Galindo, a farmworker from Durango.

With contracts ranging from three to six months, these workers temporarily leave their homes. Upon crossing the border, a bus paid for by the company awaits them on a journey of more than 24 hours to the fields that will be their workplace and home for the next few months.