Checkpoint Median Fence Need Debated

Authorities expect a proposal to build a fence along the Interstate 5 median near the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint at San Onofre to be given new consideration, after three suspected illegal immigrants were killed crossing the highway overnight Friday in attempts to elude Immigration and Naturalization Service officers.

Despite the recommendation to build the 8-foot-tall fence, made in a 1990 Cal State Fullerton study of checkpoint safety, California Department of Transportation spokesman Kyle Nelson said Friday that the $1- million project was put on hold “because of the low number of deaths” in that area last year.

Nelson said that last year, two Mexican immigrants were killed by cars while attempting to avoid authorities at the checkpoint. However, in 1990, the California Highway Patrol reported 15 deaths in similar accidents in an 8-mile stretch near the checkpoint.

Caltrans and CHP officials attributed last year’s drop in deaths to the presence of more warning signs placed along the freeway, increased enforcement of speed limits and other efforts to alert both motorists and pedestrians to the danger.

But the recent accidents, Nelson said, will probably “heighten consideration” of the fence project proposed in the study, which was commissioned by Caltrans.

Advocates contend that the fence would discourage crisscrossing of the freeway and reduce accidents. Immigrant advocates, however, say they fear that those who would continue to attempt a crossing could instead be trapped in heavy traffic by the fence.

“There are some limitations we are trying to overcome in terms of freeway obstacles such as fences,” said Roberto Martinez, director of the U.S.-Mexico Project with the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego. “We are still looking for ways for motorists to spot immigrants, such as shining lights or removing shrubbery.

“This is very tragic. We are always asking what more we can do, but there is never enough being done. Caltrans is (spending) a lot of the money involving the (altering) of freeways to make them safer,” he said.

“But I don’t think enough is being done in terms of education. I would like to see more written material in newspapers and newsletters as well as television and radio spots to help us get as much information as we can across. A lot of these people come from the interior of Mexico, so education is very important. We are trying to let immigrants and smugglers know that they are putting lives in danger when they choose to do this.”

CHP spokesman Jerry Bohrer said his agency recently received $600,000 in federal funds that it will use in the next few months to step up its public-awareness campaign and enhance speed limit enforcement in the vicinity of the San Onofre and San Ysidro border checkpoints.

The CHP and Caltrans have been distributing literature about freeway dangers at bus stops and other public transportation facilities in Mexican border towns.

In addition, Nelson said that six months ago, Caltrans began a project with the state Department of Motor Vehicles that includes a notification of the freeway danger spots in all mailings of new auto registrations.

“We have been sending out close to 300,000 notifications a month to registered drivers as far north as Santa Barbara,” Nelson said.

Nelson said that this month Caltrans will begin presenting public-service announcements of the potential danger on television in San Diego County, while the CHP plans to begin similar TV and radio announcements in Mexico.

Bohrer said many of the immigrants come from interior towns in Mexico and remote parts of South America where freeways do not exist and where people share the roadways with cars and animals.

“They are ignorant of what freeways and high-speed traffic are all about,” he said.

Death on Interstate 5 Within 10 hours, three suspected illegal immigrants were killed when they ran across Interstate 5 near the Border Patrol checkpoint just south of San Clemente. Safety changes have reduced deaths since 1990, but officials fear an increase.

Checkpoint Accidents 1991 Accidents: 2 Deaths: 2

Checkpoint Arrests 1987: 47,952 1991: 67,494

Improving Safety A 1990 Caltrans study led to suggestions on how to minimize checkpoint accidents. Results: Increased Visibility: New lights and the removal of roadside shrubbery give motorists a better view. Publicity: Handouts educate would-be immigrants in Mexico about freeway dangers. Median Wall: 8-mile-long fence in the median was considered the best way to prevent accidents. It was not built, but the recent deaths may revive the plan. Source: Caltrans, California Highway Patrol; Border Patrol