http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/ho ... 595979.php

Friday, March 2, 2007
Immigration detentions drop
Arrests in Costa Mesa leading to suspected immigration violations fall in February.
By JEFF OVERLEY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
COSTA MESA – Detentions under Costa Mesa's immigration screening program fell to their lowest level in the program's three-month run in February, arrest records show.

Twenty-eight people arrested in February were suspected of immigration violations, compared with 46 in December and 58 in January.

The decline doesn't appear linked to overall arrests. About 380 people were booked at the city jail in February, compared with about 400 in December and 470 in January.

Jim Hayes, regional director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, downplayed the drop. "I don't really attach any significance to it, because it is just one month," he said. "If … it's starting to decline further over the next three to six months, I'd say yeah, we are having a deterrent effect."

The immigration detentions have leaned toward less serious offenses of late. In December, misdemeanor and felony charges were almost evenly split. In January, 40 percent of offenders faced felony charges, and in February that rate remained about the same.

That trend is in line with broader jail statistics. In February, about 43 percent of all cases involved felonies.

Meanwhile, a part-time federal agent in the Anaheim city jail and federally trained sheriff's deputies flagged 395 arrestees for immigration violations in February. That's about 160 more detentions than occurred in January, Hayes said.

Hayes said he is in talks to introduce immigration checks to other Orange County cities, but he declined to be specific.