ESCONDIDO WANTS TO INVITE BORDER PATROL INTO TOWN

By J. Harry Jones
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 18, 2007

ESCONDIDO – The City Council is considering a policy that would invite U.S. Border Patrol agents to work in concert with Escondido police during routine DUI, driver's license and seat belt checkpoints.

If someone passing through the checkpoint is found to be in violation by police, that person would be directed to a secondary inspection area where Border Patrol agents would determine if the driver, and possibly any passengers, are in the United States illegally. If they are, they would be taken into custody and face deportation.

Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher said a draft of the policy is being prepared, and a report will be submitted to the council within a few weeks. It is being written at the behest of Councilman Sam Abed, who broached the subject with former Police Chief Duane White last year and then continued discussion with Maher when he took over as chief in July, Abed said.

During a council workshop yesterday, Maher expressed serious misgivings about the proposed policy.

“My concern is that the (illegal immigrant) community would see us as an extension of the Border Patrol and would never want anything to do with us,” Maher said.

In an interview, Maher said his concern is that illegal residents wouldn't want to cooperate with the police in any situation, including filing crime reports or acting as witnesses, out of fear of deportation.

“We would have to educate the community about the difference” between the roles of the Border Patrol and police, he said.

Maher said he was unaware of any other local police department working with the Border Patrol in a similar manner.

During yesterday's meeting, Maher said it is stunning how many times officers encounter people at checkpoints without licenses who may or may not be illegal immigrants. He said the department does not check immigration status, but instead issues citations.

During an interview, Abed said he thinks Escondido would be the first city in the county to adopt such a policy.

“I believe we are the most impacted by illegal immigration and we must take the lead in measures to control it,” Abed said. “The majority of our citizens want us to do something about public safety.”

If approved, the policy would be the latest attempt by a City Council majority to crack down on illegal immigration.

Abed was one of three council members who voted to adopt an illegal-immigrant housing ordinance last year, which caused a furor in the city and made national headlines. The ordinance, which would have fined landlords for renting to illegal immigrants, was challenged in federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. The city was forced to abandon it in the face of a costly and most likely futile court battle.

Last night, one of the lawyers who worked with the ACLU on the housing ordinance lawsuit expressed concerns about the city's latest proposal.

“This raises serious potential constitutional issues that the ACLU will look at,” Alan Mansfield said.

Mansfield said he is “continuing to work closely with the ACLU in monitoring the actions of the Escondido City Council.”

Mansfield said the issue came up recently when police checkpoints in the city also were staffed by Border Patrol agents.

Mansfield said he was told that the presence of the agents was a coincidence, and not part of a city policy, and that the police had not asked the agents to be there.

Since the defeat of the housing ordinance, the City Council has been discussing other ways illegal immigration can be dealt with at the local level. The council majority maintains that thousands of illegal immigrants in the city are causing overcrowding, increases in crime and other problems, and that the city must deal with it because the federal government isn't doing anything.

The council also is studying strictly enforcing existing laws regulating the number of cars parked in front of houses and illegal garage conversions.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nort ... 8esco.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
J. Harry Jones: (760) 737-7579; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com