SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 3: A park closed sign is displayed at Border Field State Park near the California - Mexico border on May 3, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
San Diego, California – Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is visiting Imperial Beach on Thursday to confront what he and local officials are calling the nation’s most urgent environmental and public health disaster: the ongoing sewage pollution from the Tijuana River.
Invited by Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, Booker is joining Rep. Juan Vargas (D-San Diego) to call for immediate federal action to stem the tide of wastewater flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border. “The health and safety of these communities have been ignored for far too long,” Booker said. “I’m here to see it firsthand, to stand with local leaders like Mayor Aguirre, and to push for the federal action this crisis demands.”
Booker’s visit follows the release of a UC San Diego study revealing that chemical pollutants from the river are not only contaminating ocean water but are also becoming airborne through sea spray. The peer-reviewed study, published in Science Advances, found aerosolized traces of methamphetamine, cocaine residue, tire compounds, and UV-blocking chemicals from sunscreen in the air around South County beaches.
“These are chemicals being inhaled by children, workers, and families every single day,” said Aguirre. “This study scientifically confirms what we’ve known for years — our air is polluted, and our people are suffering.”
The 120-mile Tijuana River, which originates in Baja California, carries millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the Pacific Ocean daily, overwhelming aging infrastructure on both sides of the border. Two treatment facilities — one in San Diego and one in Mexico — have consistently failed to manage the substantial volume of waste, resulting in beach closures, surges in respiratory illnesses, and contaminated coastal ecosystems.
Last week, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin visited San Diego to push for a joint U.S.-Mexico resolution. “We’re all out of patience,” Zeldin said, stressing that neither country can afford more years of inaction. However, many locals remain skeptical. “This will only stop when Tijuana invests in real infrastructure,” said activist Cariman in an email statement.
Recent reports have also linked exposure to polluted water and air with illness among Navy SEALs, increased gastrointestinal disease in residents, and beach closures that have lasted over 1,000 days in some areas.
Despite political visits and studies, residents and leaders like Aguirre are demanding more than acknowledgments — they want an emergency declaration and swift funding to rebuild infrastructure. “We are not second-class communities,” Aguirre said. “We deserve clean air and clean water — just like everyone else.”
