SAN DIEGO SUPERVISOR SEEKS TO RESTRICT BORDER CROSSINGS DUE TO BINATIONAL CONTAMINATION

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond proposes restricting legal border crossings, limiting water shipments, and even imposing tariffs on Mexican exports if the Mexican government doesn't stop cross-border pollution from crossing the Tijuana River.

"From here you can see the border wall and the raw sewage flowing through," Desmond said in a video posted on his social media, complaining about the severity of the situation. The Republican official has taken his complaint to Washington, D.C., the US capital, calling the situation an "environmental catastrophe."

The issue has even caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who commented, "Very bad and disgusting things are happening, and they shouldn't do that." The US president is already considering imposing tariffs for other binational water-related issues.

The pollution recently worsened due to repairs at Tijuana treatment plants, which caused an additional spill of approximately 5 million gallons of raw sewage per day into the US side. Víctor Barragán, Baja California's Water Secretary, assured during the state government conference that the Mexican government is addressing the problem:

"We've been working on a project there on the Tijuana River for almost four weeks, around the International Highway. The first phase of that project is already completed." The Mexican official stated that "right now, at this moment in time, there are no more cross-border flows."

However, the Republican Supervisor, using his X account, formerly Twitter, insisted on pressuring the Mexican government, saying the situation persists: "People are throwing away their trash, there's sewage and chemical waste," he added.

The increase in spills has intensified the foul odors in southern San Diego, triggering health alerts due to hydrogen sulfide levels.

The new Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Lee Zeldin, joined the protests:

“This coming Tuesday, I will be in San Diego, California, to intensify efforts to permanently end decades of untreated wastewater entering the United States from Mexico. A comprehensive plan to stop this pollution from across the border must be implemented immediately and urgently,” he posted on his X account.

The International Boundary and Water Commission, made up of representatives from both countries, claims to be working on a definitive solution to a problem that, although decades old, has reached critical levels in recent months.