New Smog Law Yet to Be Enforced at Border Crossing

Despite tough talk accompanying a strict new U.S. law to curb polluting cars from Mexico, federal border inspectors have not imposed a fine or denied entry to a single vehicle since the measure took effect 17 months ago.

U.S. Customs Service officials acknowledge that they have yet to exercise the law’s toughest provisions and instead have relied on the California Highway Patrol to act using the state’s 5-year-old law governing border commuters.

The federal measure was tailored to lend enforcement clout to the state law, which requires that cars driven by cross-border commuters meet the state’s strict smog standards and carry California license plates and insurance. The law is written in such a way that it applies only to San Diego County.

Officials say many drivers have voluntarily complied with requirements since the federal law took effect. But the measure’s sponsor in Congress, Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego), said delayed enforcement means that some cars are entering the United States that should not be. He planned to meet with Customs officials to discuss the matter.

“The grace period darn well should be over by now,” said Bilbray. “We should be moving from the grace period to serious enforcement.”

Customs supervisors in San Diego said they have waited for months for instructions from Washington on how to enforce the sanctions, which took effect in April 1999.

Besides hitting repeat violators with fines of up to $400 or denying them entry, the measure may allow authorities to impound vehicles, officials have suggested. But none of that has happened.

“It hasn’t been clarified who is supposed to impose the [federal] penalty,” said Ed Castorena, a Customs supervisor who took part in early planning for the law’s implementation. “At this point, basically, the Highway Patrol is doing the enforcement action.”

Since the law took effect, the CHP has posted officers at the border for four to six hours on weekdays. Drivers in apparent violation of the smog law get written warnings.

But because no one tracks repeat offenders, the only way to catch them is if an officer recognizes a previously warned motorist or the driver volunteers the information. So far, no federal penalties aimed at repeat offenders have been levied.

CHP officers also have written more than 700 tickets to unregistered cars at the border during 12 months ending in July.

Although the CHP was envisioned as part of the enforcement plan, it was not meant to be the sole enforcer. The CHP views its chief role as educating border commuters on the smog requirements, rather than punishment, said Sgt. Gary Sharpe.

A Customs spokesman in Washington conceded that implementation has proved “confusing” and said officials from Customs, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, and CHP are seeking ways to improve. One question seems to be which agency is in charge.

“Like any new legislation involving several agencies, you’re going to have quirks. We’re still trying to come up with better ways to enforce,” said spokesman Kevin Bell.

The smog issue has brewed for years along the border, where unregulated Mexican cars produce, on average, three times more pollution than U.S vehicles. Many cars driven in Mexico are aging U.S. models built without emissions controls or newer models stripped of parts, such as catalytic converters, for resale in the United States.

The new federal measure, an amendment to the federal Clean Air Act, applies to the about 7,000 daily commuters--workers and some students--whose cars are registered in Mexico. It also covers U.S. citizens living in Mexico and California residents who have registered in Mexico to skirt the smog requirement. Most border drivers, thousands on both sides who cross occasionally to shop or visit loved ones, are unaffected. More than 40,000 vehicles a day cross into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry, the nation’s busiest.

Officials at the border say many motorists appear to be complying with the new law, even without federal enforcement. Growing numbers of commuters appear to have taken their cars for testing and registration in California; fewer show up in clunkers, inspectors said.

CHP Officer Lorenzo Ruano watched the flood of early-morning commuters pour across the border into San Ysidro one recent morning. Standing by his patrol car just north of the border gates, Ruano checked registration and driver’s licenses of motorists that federal inspectors send over for a variety of reasons, including apparent violation of the smog law.

Some arrive with expired license plates, others with none. Jose Juarez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen living in Tijuana, was cited for driving a Dodge pickup not registered in California. Its Mexican registration expired months ago.

The stop probably made him late for work at a San Diego auto parts store, but Juarez said he favors the law.

“It’s good to have your license and car smogged and everything,” he said. “They should be doing it, but it’s kind of a hassle.”