The Bottleneck at ‘Border’ Checkpoint
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As for the recent news article about Rep. Ron Packard’s and Sen. Pete Wilson’s proposal to add an 8- to 16-lane “Border” Patrol turnout on Interstate 5 at La Pulgas off-ramp, the entire idea is preposterous.
Anyone who drives the route on a regular basis knows what an inconvenience and invasion of their constitutional rights the current “Border” Patrol checkpoint is. Not only is the Constitution violated by illegal detainment and search (on occasion), but the existing checkpoint does little to curtail the entry of illegal aliens into the rest of the state. Border checkpoints belong on the border, not 60 miles north of it.
The idea of increasing the number of lanes from the current four to 16 is even more ludicrous and inane. As it is, the Border Patrol shuts down two lanes when the checkpoint is in operation. Anyone who has driven from Oceanside to San Clemente on a busy weekend when the checkpoint is open knows a 45-minute-or-more delay is created when the Border Patrol funnels all the traffic into two lanes and stops every car.
Who is to benefit from this proposed new checkpoint? American citizens aren’t benefiting from the existing checkpoint. Moreover, as north San Diego County continues to attract people who work in Orange County, this highway is going to get busier. The last thing we need is a checkpoint on this route.
Something else worth looking at is why the Marine Corps would allow the checkpoint but wouldn’t work with the City of San Clemente for an additional municipal golf course extension.
As fast as this area is growing, our representatives have to take a hard look at what is real in north San Diego County and south Orange County. And what is real is a lack of good government services for a growing population.
If Wilson (R-Calif.) and Packard (R-Carlsbad) are looking into the 1990s, and all they see is a 16-lane Border Patrol checkpoint between Oceanside and San Clemente, then they should not represent the people who live in those areas.
ANTHONY V. DALY
Vista
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