Nogales border sees major increase in holiday crossers

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Naomi Pescovitz - View Bio

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NOGALES - When the holidays roll around, more and more people head to the border to see loved ones on the other side. But that can create long lines and other issues at the Nogales border.

"Normally, when it's not a holiday, [the wait is] like a half an hour," Raquel Osorio said. "But on a holiday, for the cross, it's an hour, hour and a half, or two. Sometimes more."

Even with Christmas and New Years behind us, the long lines remain.

"Everybody that went home for the holidays to Mexico's now returning so generally during this time we do see an increase of traffic," Edith Serrano, Supervisor for Customs and Border Protection said.

Customs combats that traffic by opening additional lanes, but more cars coming through the gates means there is a better chance cars will be smuggling something illegal. In just one morning, Customs gathered numerous amounts of potentially harmful items.

"People just love the guavas from Mexico," Luis Agosttini, Agriculture Technician with Customs and Border Protection said. "They try to smuggle in the fresh guavas."

Once they find the fruits and vegetables, they check them for to check for pests and diseases.

"That's what were trying to protect, pests that we don't have in the states being expanded into the US from Mexico," Agosttini said.

Customs agents say some people don't realize the dangers of the vegetation they carry into the country.

"Some people even tried to bring back live birds or parrots which are prohibited from entering the US," Serrano said.

But with this many people funneling in, Customs is not taking any risks. So if you are caught hiding something, you will be slammed with a hefty fine. Those fines start at a minimum of $175 and can be as high as thousands of dollars. Repeat offenders could even face a federal judge.