MURRIETA: U.S. Border Patrol to hold town meeting

Residents can get information about local border patrol services

NELSY RODRIGUEZ -
Posted: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 9:10 pm

The U.S. Border Patrol station in Murrieta will hold a town hall meeting Thursday for the public to voice concerns or ask questions regarding the department and its operations.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and will be held at the station, 25762 Madison Ave. This is the first time the agency will hold a town hall meeting since moving into the Murrieta building in 2006, spokesman Lee Bejar said.

Bejar said no incident prompted the meeting.

San Diego sector Chief Michael Fisher will explain the functions of the Border Patrol in the community and respond to questions, Bejar said.

"Our chief is very open," Bejar said. "He loves to let the public know what's going on, what we're doing and why we're here."

The Murrieta building is responsible for enforcing U.S. customs and immigrations laws, as well as providing outreach programs for recruiting future law enforcement officers, Bejar said. The building contains a temporary holding cell and houses about 120 agents.

The Murrieta station covers about 3,000 square miles in San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties, and includes a checkpoint on Interstate 15 south of Temecula and one on Highway 79 South in Oak Grove.

Law enforcement officers from various local agencies, including local police departments, the California Highway Patrol and Camp Pendleton, are expected to attend the meeting and provide ancillary information to residents, Bejar said.

"These are usually well-attended," he said. "We'll ask (the other agencies) to be on the panel because some of the questions that the public sometimes ask have nothing to do with Border Patrol."

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