Congress Votes $10 Million for New Checkpoint on I-5

Congress gave final approval Wednesday to a $10-million plan for the construction of a new Border Patrol checkpoint along Interstate 5, south of San Clemente.

The action came as the Senate took final action on a spending bill for the Justice Department, which includes funds for the Border Patrol. The legislation already had cleared the House.

Congressional approval all but assures that work on the long-sought expansion and relocation of the checkpoint will begin in the current fiscal year. President Bush is expected to sign the measure.

The new, 16-lane checkpoint is not expected to be completed until 1995 and will cost an additional $20 million over the $10 million set aside Wednesday. Federal immigration authorities consider a new checkpoint to be vital in helping stem the flow of undocumented immigrants along Interstate 5, the region’s busiest north-south artery.

The San Clemente checkpoint is the busiest of 30 such Border Patrol installations from California to Texas, all on roads leading from the Mexican border. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, agents based there made a record 75,000 arrests of undocumented migrants. Officers also regularly seize large caches of illicit drugs and other contraband.

But authorities regard the current checkpoint, located about five miles south of San Clemente, as outdated and ill-suited to its mission. Plans call for redesigning the checkpoint and moving it three miles south.

Critics of the checkpoint say its presence on the heavily traveled corridor has contributed to accidents, chases and the deaths of undocumented immigrants who have tried to run across the interstate to elude authorities.

Since the beginning of the year, 12 people have died trying to cross the freeway near the checkpoint.

The Coalition for Immigrant Rights and Responsibilities, which is monitoring deaths near the checkpoint, says a new checkpoint is only part of the solution. The group has advocated placing more lights and warning signals along the freeways, along with launching a public awareness campaign directed at drivers and undocumented immigrants.

“We’re very pleased that money is going to be expended to try to alleviate the obvious safety hazards at our existing checkpoint,” said Lilia Powell, coalition executive director. “I hope they look at a whole package (of measures). This is a great opportunity to reshape that whole area.”