Impromptu WA checkpoint nets 7 illegal immigrants

PORT ANGELES — Watch for impromptu U.S. Border Patrol immigration checkpoints around the north Olympic Peninsula, an agent says.

One such checkpoint operated for about five hours Friday about a mile west of the Hood Canal Floating Bridge.

There was another about six months ago near Forks, Clallam County.

The main objective of the temporary checkpoints is to catch terrorists and illegal immigrants, according to Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Michael Bermudez.

They're also used with local law enforcement to arrest felons and seize drugs and weapons, he said.

Friday's checkpoint netted seven illegal immigrants and one person with a felony warrant, Bermudez said. Also, $2,500 worth of illegally harvested salal, an evergreen perennial popular in floral arrangements.

Bermudez declined to say where or when the next checkpoints would be but added, "We are expecting to begin using them frequently in and around that area, and in places in Jefferson and Clallam counties."