Based on this article, I would agree with Kolbe that permanent checkpoints are useless (except, of course, on the border, itself). That is, unless you place them on ALL points of entrance. Otherwise, the lawbreakers will just choose some other permanent path. Random checks are much more likely to locate offenders.
There are only a handful of roads that lead from the border North in this sector. There were permanent checkpoints on those roads and mobile checkpoints that moved around based upon what the Border Patrol was trying to do. ALL of the roads leading north were covered. Kolbe shut down the checkpoints on those roads.
If you talk to any Border Patrol agent, he'll explain the necessity of the permanent checkpoints. In addition, there's no excuse for a so-called Republican who allegedly represents a border district to remove a critical tool from the Border Patrol's arsenal of border enforcement tools.