![\"\"](\"https:\/\/voiceofsandiego.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BP-3-1024x684.jpg\")
(Far left) San Diego Sector Chief Justin De La Torre in the parking lot of the Newton-Azrak Station on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. \/ Kate Morrissey for Voice of San Diego <\/p>\nSan Diego Border Patrol is spending $28.7 million on a new vehicle maintenance facility for its station off of Interstate 15 in Murrieta.<\/p>\n
Sector Chief Justin De La Torre said the funding is coming from the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d that passed last year. He said most Border Patrol stations have their own attached vehicle maintenance facilities both to service their cars and to take apart cars suspected of having smuggling compartments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Newton-Azrak Station is the only one in the sector that doesn\u2019t yet have its own mechanic area, De La Torre said. Agents working there have to take the agency\u2019s cars and SUVs to a commercial mechanic. De La Torre said that uses up agent gas and time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis facility is going to help us do something fundamental,\u201d De La Torre said at a press conference in the station\u2019s parking lot on Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s going to keep our vehicles safe. It\u2019s going to keep our fleet ready and available for our agents. It provides a dedicated facility on site with a fuel station, a wash rack, and it gives us the ability to thoroughly inspect narcotics smuggling vehicles that have hidden compartments that are difficult to disassemble.\u201d<\/p>\n
Near the I-15 checkpoint, the station currently has about 70 agents working out of it, but the agency is hoping that new hires will boost that number to about 100. The station also has 101 vehicles that have driven over 1.15 million miles so far in fiscal 2026, according to the agency.<\/p>\n
De La Torre said the agents there specialize in identifying and detaining cars suspected of having narcotics hidden deep inside them.<\/p>\n
He said agents can detain drivers for a short period of time based on \u201creasonable suspicion\u201d while the agents search cars for hidden drug compartments, but agents need a higher level of evidence, \u201cprobable cause,\u201d to make an arrest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we pull a vehicle over on the side of the road, we may know that there\u2019s narcotics inside the vehicle,\u201d the sector chief said. \u201cHowever, getting to those narcotics requires disassembling difficult components within that vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said having a facility at the station where mechanics can take those cars apart will save time in making the assessment for probable cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime is of the essence to find drugs to make an arrest,\u201d De La Torre said.<\/p>\n
(Far left) San Diego Sector Chief Justin De La Torre in the parking lot of the Newton-Azrak Station on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. \/ Kate Morrissey for Voice of San Diego <\/p>\n
At Friday\u2019s press briefing, agents had set up sketches of three possible looks for the new vehicle facility, all branded with The Haskell Company. According to a federal database, the Jacksonville, Florida-based contractor has received $23 million<\/a> for the project. The company also appears to have two contracts awarded to do work for the Department of Defense in San Diego as well as projects elsewhere in the country.<\/p>\n De La Torre said the Border Patrol station construction project will also improve the station\u2019s emergency power system, and that he\u2019s hoping to upgrade the vehicles that his agents are using as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fleet is far beyond its intended and expected lifecycle,\u201d De La Torre said.<\/p>\n The project is currently slated for completion in August 2028.<\/p>\n Thank you for reading. I\u2019m open for tips, suggestions and feedback on Instagram @katemorrisseyjournalist and on Bluesky @bgirledukate.<\/p>\n In Other News<\/p>\n City Heights rally<\/a>: Hundreds gathered in City Heights last Wednesday to protest recent immigration arrests there, I reported for Daylight San Diego.<\/p>\n Denied bond<\/a>: Among the recent arrests, that of a City College student has caused particular concern. An immigration judge recently denied bond for the man, who is originally from Haiti, Carly Kay reported for KPBS.<\/p>\n Fake attorney<\/a>: The State Bar of California is alleging that a Chula Vista man worked as an immigration attorney even though he did not have a license to practice law, Alex Riggins reported for The San Diego Union-Tribune.<\/p>\n Kids in custody<\/a>: Sof\u00eda Mej\u00edas-Pascoe reported for inewsource that children are spending weeks in Border Patrol custody even though the agency is only allowed to hold them for up to 72 hours in its cells.<\/p>\n Prosecutorial error<\/a>: While the Trump administration has criticized a federal judge for ordering the Department of Homeland Security to release a man held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody who is facing a murder charge in his home country, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in San Diego admitted that they had mistakenly withheld that information from the judge before she made her decision, Riggins reported for The San Diego Union-Tribune.<\/p>\n Teen pregnancy<\/a>: Melina Flores Gonz\u00e1lez reported for El Sol de Tijuana that the number of pregnant teens in Tijuana has dropped but that young mothers are still facing many barriers to living stable lives.<\/p>\n Detention license<\/a>: San Diego County is threatening to take away professional licenses from Otay Mesa Detention Center after the facility delayed reporting a tuberculosis case by nearly three weeks, City News Service reported via KPBS.<\/p>\n Motorcycle crossing<\/a>: The San Ysidro Port of Entry now has a dedicated motorcycle lane for crossing north, Alexandra Mendoza reported for The San Diego Union-Tribune.<\/p>\n Home births<\/a>: People who choose to give birth at home in Tijuana are struggling to get their newborns registered, Adelina Dayebi Pazos reported for El Sol de Tijuana.<\/p>\n