DANA POINT : Resolution Supports Checkpoint Closure

The city this week joined neighboring San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente by passing a resolution supporting the closure of the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Onofre checkpoint.

The City Council’s resolution, which also backs the closing of a checkpoint in Temecula, supports legislation proposed by Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) that would shift funding for the checkpoints to those along the border.

Packard has argued that the checkpoints are not cost-effective and that the money would be better used at the border, about 60 miles south. Oceanside and Carlsbad in San Diego County have adopted similar resolutions, a Packard spokesman said.

The Dana Point council vote Tuesday was 3 to 2, with Mayor Karen Lloreda and Councilman Harold R. Kaufman dissenting. Lloreda said she cast her “no” vote reluctantly, citing concerns about what the loss of the checkpoint would do to the ability of the Border Patrol to continue immigration sweeps.

Kaufman said he thinks the checkpoints serve a vital purpose and should remain open.

“I know people are inconvenienced by them, but I think we should have a 12-lane checkpoint,” he said.

Council members William L. Ossenmacher, Toni Gallagher and Judy Curreri supported the resolution. “I think the immigration efforts should be concentrated at the border, not within the boundaries of our county,” Ossenmacher said.

Despite the resolutions, the future of the checkpoints remains very much up in the air. Packard’s proposal, an amendment to a bill pending in the House of Representatives, is in direct conflict with a Senate bill the calls for continued checkpoint funding.