CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : 3rd Crossing at Border Endorsed

Business leaders meeting in San Diego agreed that a third crossing between the United States and Mexico is needed in the area because of increased foot and vehicle traffic, largely attributable to amnesty provisions of U.S. immigration law. Passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act provided temporary residence status to more than 3 million formerly undocumented immigrants, most of them citizens of Mexico, who are free to travel back and forth across the border legally. According to U.S. officials, the legal crossings at five California ports of entry increased by 21% in the most recent fiscal year, to about 89.5 million--almost a quarter-million a day. As a result, delays have gotten worse in the last two years, with waits of an hour or more to enter the United States now commonplace.