Crackdown by Border Patrol Slows I-5 Traffic
Traffic backed up along the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 in northern San Diego County Sunday, as the U.S. Border Patrol launched an intensive enforcement effort Sunday at its busy checkpoint near San Onofre.
In a move designed to bolster apprehensions of illegal aliens, the Border Patrol posted 57 agents at and near the checkpoint, which usually is manned by 10 people on Sunday afternoons, said supervisory agent T.J. Brady. The added personnel, transferred from other posts, enabled patrol officers to stop more cars for inspection, leadsing to some delays for northbound motorists.
Because of the enhanced enforcement, delays of up to 20 minutes were reported at the checkpoint, which is situated on the main north-south thoroughfare between San Diego and Los Angeles.
Authorities were expecting to arrest more than 300 aliens during the effort.
Immigration officials described the operation as a routine move conducted periodically both to keep smugglers off-balance and to judge the volume of illegal alien traffic heading toward Los Angeles. The last previous such crackdown was conducted in April.
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