Fighting on the Wrong Front : Unwisely, Border Patrol has been boarding buses in search of illegal immigrants

Alarmed by a recent increase in bus boardings by federal agents searching for passengers who have entered the country illegally, transportation authorities in Orange County have asked the U.S. Border Patrol for a clarification of policy. The Orange County Transportation Authority is understandably worried that a disturbance could lead to injuries on a bus or even a traffic accident.

A year ago, local officials met with Border Patrol officials to discuss boarding procedures in the southern part of the county. Recently, after a bus was boarded in central Orange County, near the busy South Coast Plaza in Santa Ana, a letter of concern went out.

The real issue is not where boardings take place but whether they are appropriate at all. We think they should stop. The nation’s immigration laws should not be enforced on crowded public conveyances on busy streets.

The transit agency is right to be concerned about what might happen if frightened riders tried to flee as their bus maneuvered in traffic. Border Patrol actions, especially chases, have a way of creating havoc and even disaster. Last year the driver of a van fleeing from Border Patrol agents ran a red light in Temecula and crashed in front of a high school, killing six people. There have been many other heart-stopping chases on Southern California freeways and even local streets, not to mention controversial neighborhood raids carried out with the help of local police.

The fact is, tactics like bus and train boardings, chases on the freeways and sweeps in residential areas do little more than terrorize communities; the effect on illegal immigration is negligible. Typically these misconceived fishing expeditions wind up netting little more than a handful of illegal immigrants.

Moreover, although discussion between transit officials and Border Patrol representatives has produced a promise of adequate safety measures, there always will be a risk of someone being hurt or killed when something goes wrong.

The issue turns on the wisdom of trying to combat illegal immigration in the nation’s interior. One bus passenger, who told a reporter he had been in the country illegally for six years, said the tactic of boarding buses caused little more than an inconvenience: “If they take you back (to Mexico), with a little imagination we can come back the next day.” The Border Patrol should concentrate on stopping such determined people right at the border.