Escondido police chief against immigration officers at checkpoints


Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher gives the Escondido City Council his recommendations.

By: PAUL EAKINS - Staff Writer

ESCONDIDO ---- Having federal immigration officers work with police at traffic checkpoints would be "risky" and "unnecessary," police Chief Jim Maher told the Escondido City Council on Wednesday.

Councilman Sam Abed had said he wanted such a collaboration, but he and other council members were swayed by Maher's recommendations and his explanation of a new Police Department policy.

The new policy has officers working more with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and doing background checks on suspects for a broader range of misdemeanor violations, which means that more illegal immigrants who commit crimes in Escondido likely will be deported, Maher said.


"I think the standard of identification needs to be raised," said Maher, who became police chief in July.

The afternoon meeting at City Hall was attended by about 60 residents, several police officers, and members of multiple broadcast and print media. The media attention has become common at council meetings in recent months as the council has attempted to take on illegal immigration, first through a controversial rental ordinance last year and then with an anti-illegal immigration resolution in January.

The chief told the council that since the early 1990s, the Police Department has had a full-time immigration officer at its station to do status checks on suspects charged with felonies or serious misdemeanors requiring them to be sent to jail. That has resulted in 10 to 15 deportations of illegal immigrants per month, Maher said.

But for other misdemeanors, such as minor traffic violations, people usually were cited and released, he said.

Under the new policy, the police work more with the resident immigration officer to do background checks for lesser misdemeanors.

Now, unlicensed drivers' backgrounds, and their immigration status when necessary, are checked, he said. Before, unlicensed drivers were cited and their vehicles impounded, then they were free to go.

Legally, police can hold people for up to two hours under such circumstances to identify them, he said.

Maher said that having immigration officers at checkpoints would hurt the Police Department's relationship with parts of the community, making solving crimes more difficult.

"You have a shooting on a Friday, and by Sunday everyone in the neighborhood knows what happened and who did it, except the police," he said.

He also said that training the city's officers to handle immigration matters under a federal policy called 287(g), an idea floated by some council members Wednesday, would drain police resources.

Maher didn't say when the new policy was put in place, and he declined to comment further after the meeting despite requests from several TV and newspaper reporters.

Four people spoke to the council about Abed's idea, with three opposed to it and one in favor.

Council members said they were happy to see the work the Police Department is doing and didn't see a need for changes to the new policy.

However, Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler argued with Abed over crime statistics he mentioned during the meeting, saying she questioned the statistical accuracy, and that Abed was contributing to a negative perception of the city while six TV cameras looked on.

"Immigration is an issue for this country, but it doesn't necessarily have to be 'the' issue for Escondido," Pfeiler said.

In other business, the council approved a stricter ordinance for adult businesses such as strip clubs, but with the caveat that the issue be returned to the council. Council members said they wanted city staff members to find an alternate site for one of seven centers designated as areas where such businesses can locate.

The ordinance was approved 4-1, with Councilman Ed Gallo opposed.

Several people told the council they don't want the designated areas to be near their homes or nearby schools and businesses. The city is required by law to allow adult businesses to operate, but it may restrict the businesses to designated locations.

-- Contact staff writer Paul Eakins at (760) 740-5420 or peakins@nctimes.com.


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