U.S. citizens detained, fined thousands for using wrong lane at California-Mexico border

Two Los Angeles residents were detained and forced to pay thousands in fines after they used the wrong lane when crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. 

The fines were the assessed after U.S. citizens returning to their homeland accidentally entered the Sentri Lane, an express lane which only permits pre-approved travelers at the Tijuana/San Ysidro Port of Entry.

The Angelinos were stopped by authorities, detained, and forced to pay fines to avoid having their car impounded. 

“They shackled me to this metal bench as I waited for three hours,” said Rose, a Burbank, California resident in a television interview with local affiliate KTTV-TV. 

The Sentri lane, short for Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection, is a special lane in the U.S.-Mexico border that allows “clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States.” To be approved for the Sentri program, applicants must undergo a rigorous background check and in-person interview.

According to Customs and Border Protection agents, drivers are issued a fine of $5,000 if they accidentally use the Sentri lane three times. However, the California residents detained said they never received a warning. 

Once a driver enters the express lane, concrete barriers make it impossible to get out. Some drivers who get stuck in the Sentri lane have said the signs and roundabouts on the Mexico side of the border are a confusing.

Drivers have also blamed navigation apps, which are apparently failing to make the distinction between the two lanes, and inadvertently sending them to the Sentri lane. 

“When we put in the address to go back home, it basically told us to go through a certain way, I guess Sentri is the fastest way to get out of the border,” Rose said, adding that the concrete barriers in the lane made it impossible to get out of it. 

Despite the confusion, some drivers have tried to notify authorities before reaching the actual checkpoint to avoid problems, but apparently that hasn't helped.

John Manley, a California based lawyer who has represented drivers who have been charged in the matter said the fines are usually only assessed against U.S. Citizens. 

"They basically shackle you to a bench for two, three hours," he said. "They say, 'Yep, we're gonna take your car,' or, 'we're gonna fine you $5,000,' for what amounts to being in the wrong lane of traffic."

Using the improper lane to reenter the United States is considered a violation under 19 U.S.C. 1436. But some drivers say they were hit with fines despite just making an honest mistake. 

"We just got into the wrong lane... we didn't do anything else wrong but get into the wrong lane," said Bernardo Montenegro of he and his common law wife Patricia Caro of Fontana. "Once you're in the lane, you can’t get out, and you know, what can you do?"

The Caro couple, who were initially fined $10,000 filed a petition to have their fines dismissed, and CBP forgave 90% of their penalties.

Ana Salazar, a Pasadena resident said the incident was a shocking experience for her as an otherwise law abiding citizen. 

“I had never been humiliated in my life the way I was humiliated that afternoon,” she told KTTV-TV.

“When I was in the office waiting, one of the agents came in and he shouted at everyone else in the office, ‘Oh, we got another $5K,’” Salazar said. “Obviously, it was someone else that went through the same thing I did. So, I just thought to myself, Oh, this is just a business.”