The Saime ticket offices at the San Antonio del Táchira customs register a significant increase in citizens carrying out exit and entry procedures, mostly for immigration purposes. Every day, the numbers exceed 1,200 people
By The Nation
In recent days, the ticket offices of the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Immigration (Saime) located at the main customs office in San Antonio del Táchira have experienced an increase in the number of people carrying out entry and exit procedures. The majority of citizens, with their suitcases in hand, seek to complete the necessary stamps to cross the border in what represents an increase in the migratory flow through this point.
Among those in line was Fabián, accompanied by his partner. “We are going to seal because we migrated today,” he explained briefly, without going into details and showing some caution when speaking. He assured that his parents were waiting for them in San Antonio to say goodbye before continuing to Colombia.
“My parents are waiting for us in a parking lot in San Antonio to leave, heading to Colombia, once we get the stamp,” he said.
According to reviews of The Nationthe majority are motivated by migratory interests, not by tourist or work trips. Through the Simón Bolívar international bridge, daily, they can leave in migratory transit 900 people without a passport stamp, either because it has expired or because it has never been processed, and other 300 with stamp.
“I’ve been in line for two hours”
In the images, you can see the long line of citizens waiting to complete their procedure, around 5:30 pm “I have been in line for more than two hours,” said a citizen.
A woman who was about to pass through indicated that she arrived at the main customs seal at 3:00 pm, and there was no system. “After a while it was restored, but care was interrupted again due to an electrical failure,” he lamented.
Last Saturday, November 2, the procedure at the sealing booths slowed down due to a system failure and a subsequent power outage, causing long waits for citizens.
The ticket offices operate from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm, the same as the international bridge, although the constant delays generate uncertainty among those seeking to cross the border.
*Read also: What is a detention center like for migrants who cross illegally into the US? (II)
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