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Economy

Speeding Up Border Crossings Top Agenda At International Meeting

Mayors from northern Baja California and dozens of Southern California cities will gather at the bi-national mayors meeting in Rosarito on Friday. Wait times at border crossings top the agenda.

Improving the flow of people and goods across the border while maintaining security is one of the meeting's central themes.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Alan Bersin, and Mexican congressman, Gaston Luken, will give the keynote address.

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Luken, who's district includes Tijuana's border crossings, said long border lines to get into the U.S. give the appearance of tough enforcement.

"Somebody can say, look, we're inspecting every car that comes across. But, I think that flow can happen without sacrificing control if you apply technology. The same thing goes for Mexico," said Luken.

Mexico is rolling out a system to screen all cars headed into the country in the name of national security.

Mexico's president says the system will crack down on gun and cash smuggling.

But Luken said the technology that's been chosen cannot detect that contraband. He said the system should not be put into place if it backs up traffic.

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Building and testing the program has caused nightly traffic jams headed into Tijuana.