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Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Costa Mesa looks at immigration enforcement
City Council majority likes training local police officers, but residents object.

By JEFF OVERLEY
The Orange County Register

COSTA MESA – About 200 people turned out Tuesday night as the City Council discussed enacting a controversial program that would train Costa Mesa police officers to enforce federal immigration law.

A vote had not been taken as of 10 p.m., but the plan, which would be the first adopted by a U.S. city, appeared to have the support of three of the five council members.

Councilman Gary Monahan and Mayor Allan Mansoor said Tuesday night that they were in favor, and Mayor Pro Tem Eric Bever gave his backing Monday.

Monahan said he wanted a program like the one the Sheriff's Department is pursuing, giving the power to jail personnel and certain investigators. Those deputies could detain illegal immigrants suspected of felonies. "If the Sheriff's Department is going to be doing this countywide, I think it makes sense for us to be part of it," Monahan said.

The program is allowed under a 1996 federal immigration law.

The council was expected to hear public comments before voting. Most of the audience members appeared to be opposed to the program.

"To pass a law such as this would create negative energy and negative tension and endanger the shaky bond between Latinos and the police force," Kristin Hoeffler, 20, of Costa Mesa, said before the discussion began. "There are illegal immigrants and children of illegal immigrants, and what will happen to those children if their parents are sent away?"

"I feel like (the council) never looks at what Latinos add to the community. They only look at the negative," said Mike Burns, 20, of Costa Mesa.

Some supporters of the program echoed Mayor Allan Mansoor, who said: "Ultimately it's going to make the community safer for all of us, even those who are in the country illegally and are otherwise law-abiding."

Under another plan being considered, patrol officers could question and detain illegal immigrants first stopped on suspicion of another offense, such as speeding or soliciting a day- labor job. Police would not be allowed to conduct sweeps for undocumented immigrants.

The proposal was raised last week by the mayor, who said he was motivated by recent public outcry over illegal immigration.

The council voted in May to close the city's day-laborer site, saying it was being underused and the property could be developed. The Placentia Avenue site closes Dec. 31.

Costa Mesa's population is 32 percent Hispanic and 7 percent Asian, according to the 2000 census.

The issue reached the front burner in part because of the Minuteman Project headed by Orange County resident Jim Gilchrist, whose followers staged a patrol along the Arizona-Mexico border earlier this year.