Feasibility of frequent day trips from USA to Mexico during a 30 day period

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Disclaimer - I have never crossed (in either direction) the border at El Paso / Ciudad Juárez, so this is just a general observation on crossing land borders in Mexico. I have crossed the border hundreds of times from Tijuana.

It is quite feasible to cross the land border from the US to Mexico (and back) regularly - many people do it, a large number of them do it daily. Both Mexican and US citizens (and to a lesser extent other nationalities). Something like 80,000 vehicles cross from Tijuana into San Diego EVERY DAY! So yes, it's pretty common.

The longest/slowest portion of the trip will almost always be crossing from Mexico to the US, as every vehicle and person is stopped and checked. It is typically (from my observation) easier for a US citizen as you already have the right to enter the US. I am not a US citizen/resident, so I enter on a tourist visa, but usually have no issues other than time.

If you have Global Entry or SENTRI (possibly also NEXUS) you can skip most of the waiting as you are a "Trusted Traveler" however these cost and there are interviews and possibly a wait for both pre-approval and interview appointments. When we got our SENTRI we waited longer than a year and that was pre-Covid which slowed things even more. Note that if you cross by vehicle through the SENTRI/Global Entry lanes the vehicle must also be registered for SENTRI entry.

If you have a Passport Card you may be able to cross at what I believe are called READY lanes (I assume these are available into El Paso) which may or may not be quicker than a standard crossing.

If you have none of the above you'll need to cross with everybody else. In Tijuana this is typically the slowest, and in my (pre-SENTRI) experience usually takes between 1 and 3 hours. Sundays and Monday mornings can be much, much longer, which may be something to consider as you mention crossing on weekends, so I assume Friday night or Saturday mornings into Mexico, and then Sunday afternoon/evenings back into the US. Everyone else is doing the same, so that's when it's the slowest!

Things to note:

  • If you don't do anything stupid then you should be fairly safe. If you get drunk or into drugs or other nefarious activities then the risk increases. Be sensible.
  • You mention buying groceries in Mexico - I assume you mean to take back into the US. Make sure you are fully aware of what you can and can't take into the US such as meats, fruits, grains, nuts etc. as many things are banned and you can get fined (and if you're in the Trusted Traveler program you can also lose your Global Entry or SENTRI)
  • It may be worth considering walking (I don't know how far away things are in Juarez though) as the pedestrian entry back into the US can be much quicker than the standard vehicle crossings

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