Celebrate Día de los Muertos: Bring the memories, leave prohibited agricultural items behind

SAN DIEGO - Día de los Muertos, widely celebrated from Nov. 1 through Nov. 2, is a time to honor and remember loved ones through colorful altars, meaningful traditions and beautiful floral displays. As border communities prepare for the festivities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reminds travelers to bring the festive spirit but leave certain prohibited plants and produce behind.

CBP prohibits several popular Día de los Muertos decorations, including orange jasmine, also known as Murraya, from entering the United States. While this greenery may look like the perfect addition to an altar, it can carry the Asian citrus psyllid, a small insect capable of spreading citrus huanglongbing, also known as HLB or citrus greening.

HLB is one of the most serious citrus diseases worldwide. It affects nearly all citrus varieties and can also affect certain ornamental plants. Since researchers first detected HLB in Florida in 2005, the disease has remained incurable. The disease can kill citrus trees and reduce citrus production.

Travelers should also know that CBP admits the vibrant yellow and orange marigolds traditionally used in Día de los Muertos memorials only as cut flowers, and travelers must not import them for propagation or planting. CBP also prohibits several fruits, including oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, sour oranges, sweet limes, guavas, mangoes, peaches and pomegranates. In addition, CBP prohibits tomato and pepper plants from Mexico because they may carry tomato brown rugose fruit virus, which can cause significant damage to domestic tomato and pepper crops.

Travelers who fail to declare prohibited agricultural products may face penalties ranging from $500 for personal importations to $250,000 for commercial importations. Declaring agricultural items helps protect American farms, gardens and communities.

This Día de los Muertos, bring your memories and traditions with you, but leave prohibited plants and produce behind. Remember, when in doubt, declare all items!

For more information on how travelers can safeguard America's agricultural industry and avoid importing prohibited items, consult the "Bringing Food into the U.S." and "Can I Bring it?" webpages.

Follow the director of CBP's San Diego Field Office on X at @DFOSanDiegoCA for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 70,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air and on the seas. We enforce safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration and trust.

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