Refused entry with a truck & camper
Had a call this morning from Mike & Terri, they are being refused entry with a truck camper on a 1 ton. My mexican partner is trying to deal with it via phone. Not sure if the issue is the truck bein...
Forum Discussion
Permit me to ask Mr Briansue a question,
You drive whatever distance to Mexico, arrive at Aduana/Sat/Banjercito and refuse to issue you a permit. What are you going to do?
You take an extra day to go to an alternate POE and are refused again. What will be your thoughts?
Then to crossing No 3... and?
In May of 1997 lets me spell it MAY OF NINETEEN NINETY SEVEN.
I crossed at Tijuana Garita Dos. I was refused an FMT. I had left my passport north of the border but had a county and state valid Calif. birth certificate, a ton of photo ID valid driver license, you name it.
Immigration REFUSED to issue an FMT. "We now want only pasaportes!" the migra stated. "I have not heard of this law" I replied. He pointed at the wall beside the office entry. There an almost 1 meter square sign was attached to the wall.
SE REQUIRE PASAPORTES INM de MEXICO
I could not believe my eyes.
"Well, then, I am going to Ensenada"
"Your form says you are going to La Paz" he replied. (True I was headed for the Transbordador)
"But can I go to Ensenada?"
"Please go to your vehicle"
I started the pickup.
He slid the chain link fence sideways and ordered me to pass through to the one way lanes to US Customs.
When I arrived at the US Customs booth the Special Agent slid a yellow tag beneath my windshield wiper and ordered me to secondary.
At secondary I was told the process was standard procedure for anyone turned around (in plain sight) of US Customs. I underwent forty minutes of secondary inspection.
You know and I know that in reality Passports were not required until many years later.
I drove the long winding drive up California 94 to Tecate. I paid the dollar to park across from the T.J. Worthy market that sits aside the border and walked to the INM office. Perhaps 100 meters.
Same exact answer, same sign and exactly the same refusal as Garita # 2
My walkthrough at US Customs was a breeze. It was getting dark. I overnighted at the county park in Potrero.
Next day, Mexicali. REFUSED
Continue on to Algodones. Permitted. Doubled back to Tecate then cut down Mex 3 to Ensenada, down the peninsula and crossed to Mazatlan.
A year or so later I asked "Carlos" the owner of the Hotel Bahia in Ensenada about my Twilight Zone adventure.
"Oh that" he dismissed - all of Tijuana and Ensenada learned of this ********************* (multiple groserias). One of the big shots in Ensenada got a meeting together of "strong" business owners and we decided something..."
"What was that?"
"We sent a car with people from gobernacion Estatal in it and explained that if they kept the tourists from coming, all of them would be disappeared" Carlos was not smiling.
Now, am I supposed to disbelieve what he told me?
I have lived a long time down here. I have learned a near graduate level course in the culture the laws and how they are "enforced".
Rather than get technical may I offer a tip? Enforcers of laws, of rules and regulations are hyper-sensitive to criticism, second guessing, even facial expressions. If for some reason they get embarrassed, insulted or challenged they tend to over-react.
They are a hammer. You play the part of an egg. No matter how offensive their attitude seems to be, back the heck off. Because they can make things unbelievably hard in an instant. Swallow the rising bile, cramp facial muscles into a smile, shake hands, muy buenas whatever, and depart.
Why the false formality? You may run into the same character at a later date and trust me, they have damned near photographic memory and a simple abiding by the law 100% legal crossing can get damned complicated damned fast. A 101% inventory of every article in your possession is a starter.
US Customs can be every bit as severe or even worse, so keep it in perspective.
The strictness of matching your windshield VIN number to your paperwork is ALSO done to avoid possible confiscation of your vehicle deep in Mexico by the
SSP. Joaquin Dianda, commandante of the Petlatlan Guerrero office and I spent three hours together under a Parota tree at a Reten, and the man was incredibly patient as I asked dozens and dozens of questions. He handed me his big black plastic cover REGLAS FEDERALES de LA REPUBLICA book and point by point, question by question answered everything in detail.
My curiosity, big ears and zipped lips have kept me from many a boo-boo when dealing with Mexican bureaucracy.
Any law enforcement officer at any time, anywhere in Mexico can ask to verify your car papers and your legal status for being in the country. Just because it would be incredibly rare for someone to do so does not mean the law does not exist. I read the law clave por clave. Joaquin was all smiles.
You drive whatever distance to Mexico, arrive at Aduana/Sat/Banjercito and refuse to issue you a permit. What are you going to do?
You take an extra day to go to an alternate POE and are refused again. What will be your thoughts?
Then to crossing No 3... and?
In May of 1997 lets me spell it MAY OF NINETEEN NINETY SEVEN.
I crossed at Tijuana Garita Dos. I was refused an FMT. I had left my passport north of the border but had a county and state valid Calif. birth certificate, a ton of photo ID valid driver license, you name it.
Immigration REFUSED to issue an FMT. "We now want only pasaportes!" the migra stated. "I have not heard of this law" I replied. He pointed at the wall beside the office entry. There an almost 1 meter square sign was attached to the wall.
SE REQUIRE PASAPORTES INM de MEXICO
I could not believe my eyes.
"Well, then, I am going to Ensenada"
"Your form says you are going to La Paz" he replied. (True I was headed for the Transbordador)
"But can I go to Ensenada?"
"Please go to your vehicle"
I started the pickup.
He slid the chain link fence sideways and ordered me to pass through to the one way lanes to US Customs.
When I arrived at the US Customs booth the Special Agent slid a yellow tag beneath my windshield wiper and ordered me to secondary.
At secondary I was told the process was standard procedure for anyone turned around (in plain sight) of US Customs. I underwent forty minutes of secondary inspection.
You know and I know that in reality Passports were not required until many years later.
I drove the long winding drive up California 94 to Tecate. I paid the dollar to park across from the T.J. Worthy market that sits aside the border and walked to the INM office. Perhaps 100 meters.
Same exact answer, same sign and exactly the same refusal as Garita # 2
My walkthrough at US Customs was a breeze. It was getting dark. I overnighted at the county park in Potrero.
Next day, Mexicali. REFUSED
Continue on to Algodones. Permitted. Doubled back to Tecate then cut down Mex 3 to Ensenada, down the peninsula and crossed to Mazatlan.
A year or so later I asked "Carlos" the owner of the Hotel Bahia in Ensenada about my Twilight Zone adventure.
"Oh that" he dismissed - all of Tijuana and Ensenada learned of this ********************* (multiple groserias). One of the big shots in Ensenada got a meeting together of "strong" business owners and we decided something..."
"What was that?"
"We sent a car with people from gobernacion Estatal in it and explained that if they kept the tourists from coming, all of them would be disappeared" Carlos was not smiling.
Now, am I supposed to disbelieve what he told me?
I have lived a long time down here. I have learned a near graduate level course in the culture the laws and how they are "enforced".
Rather than get technical may I offer a tip? Enforcers of laws, of rules and regulations are hyper-sensitive to criticism, second guessing, even facial expressions. If for some reason they get embarrassed, insulted or challenged they tend to over-react.
They are a hammer. You play the part of an egg. No matter how offensive their attitude seems to be, back the heck off. Because they can make things unbelievably hard in an instant. Swallow the rising bile, cramp facial muscles into a smile, shake hands, muy buenas whatever, and depart.
Why the false formality? You may run into the same character at a later date and trust me, they have damned near photographic memory and a simple abiding by the law 100% legal crossing can get damned complicated damned fast. A 101% inventory of every article in your possession is a starter.
US Customs can be every bit as severe or even worse, so keep it in perspective.
The strictness of matching your windshield VIN number to your paperwork is ALSO done to avoid possible confiscation of your vehicle deep in Mexico by the
SSP. Joaquin Dianda, commandante of the Petlatlan Guerrero office and I spent three hours together under a Parota tree at a Reten, and the man was incredibly patient as I asked dozens and dozens of questions. He handed me his big black plastic cover REGLAS FEDERALES de LA REPUBLICA book and point by point, question by question answered everything in detail.
My curiosity, big ears and zipped lips have kept me from many a boo-boo when dealing with Mexican bureaucracy.
Any law enforcement officer at any time, anywhere in Mexico can ask to verify your car papers and your legal status for being in the country. Just because it would be incredibly rare for someone to do so does not mean the law does not exist. I read the law clave por clave. Joaquin was all smiles.
