Border Should Be Policed at the Border : Chase that killed five at Temecula points up the dubious sites of checkpoints

The crime of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexican border has ended with the death penalty for five innocent bystanders and injuries to 12 migrants. Normally, apprehended immigrants suffer little more than a quick trip back to Mexico. Normally, U.S. citizens aren’t physically harmed. But nothing is ever quite normal near the border.

Tuesday morning, a van stolen in Orange County and driven by a juvenile ran a red light in front of Temecula Valley High School in Riverside County while fleeing border agents. The vehicle slammed into a small car, killing its three occupants. The van then jumped a curb, killing a brother and sister who were walking to school, and overturned. Twelve suspected illegal immigrants inside were injured, four critically.

The level of Tuesday’s carnage was unusual, but its source was sadly common. Since 1980, Border Patrol chases have killed at least 25 people. Two years ago a woman and her unborn child were victims of another deadly pursuit in Temecula. Officials in Orange County have long complained about high-speed pursuits through their communities.

The Border Patrol says it wasn’t in “hot pursuit” of the vehicle when the crash occurred. But there’s little doubt that the chase was a major factor in the tragedy. And there is little comfort in knowing that a preliminary investigation indicates that the agents acted within current guidelines.

The Border Patrol is considering a new policy that might restrict high-speed chases in densely populated areas such as Southern California. That’s a good idea, for starters.

But two Southern California congressmen have a better idea--they’ve asked immigration officials to re-examine the usefulness of the freeway checkpoints just south of Temecula and San Clemente, to see whether their worth outweighs the dangers they present. That’s the real issue.

Primary enforcement of immigration law is better done at the border. If the job can’t be accomplished there, innocent people 60 miles away shouldn’t have to pay the ultimate price.