Costa Mesa mayor wants stricter immigration policies

By ELLYN PAK
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

COSTA MESA – Mayor Allan Mansoor, who was thrust into the limelight five years ago with his tough stance on illegal immigration, is proposing that the city impose more stringent policies.

"We have complete respect and support for legal immigration and welcome all who come here legally," Mansoor said during a press conference Wednesday morning in the council chambers. "At the same time, I'm here to state that Costa Mesa is not a sanctuary city and is in fact a rule of law city."

A federal immigration enforcement officer started working full-time at the Costa Mesa city jail checking the immigration status of each arrestee in December 2006.

7 minutes ago

From requiring Costa Mesa businesses to verify workers' immigration statuses to allowing police officers to check legal status and valid identification of unlicensed drivers, Mansoor said he wanted city officials to discuss these options sooner than later. He said he will bring up the issue during a council session but didn't say when.

"These are very difficult issues, but that does not mean we should look the other way," he said. "These issues need to be addressed and part of that is making the public aware what those problems are."

Mansoor said his bid for a state Assembly seat or Arizona's recent measure cracking down on illegal immigration did not play a part in announcing his plans to launch discussions with his fellow city officials. He received recent criticism from anti-illegal immigration advocates for not pushing the E-Verify system, a federal program that is used to verify legal statuses of employees.

"I haven't read that (Arizona) policy but I support upholding our immigration laws," he said.

Arizona's new measure cracking down on illegal immigrants – making it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally – could go into effect in late July. Under the law, immigrants who cannot produce documents verifying their immigration status could be arrested, put in jail for up to six months or be fined.

"I just think it's a publicity stunt because he's running for assembly," said Naui Ocelotl Huitzilopochtli of Colectivo Tonantzin, a day laborer advocacy group. "If he proposes what I call racist laws, it's going to mobilize people. I think if he wants to implement this in Costa Mesa, it's going to backfire."

The mayor propelled himself and the city into the forefront of the illegal immigration debate in 2005 when he proposed allowing the city's police officers to enforce federal immigration laws on a local level. Ultimately, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was placed at the city jail to check immigration statuses.

Mansoor said he considers the program successful. Since December 2006, 1,300 people who committed crimes ranging from murder to sex crimes/cruelty to children, were flagged for deportation. Mansoor also expressed his concerns about loopholes, particularly when detainees' immigration statuses are checked when an ICE agent is not present at the jail.

Last year, there were 2,000 incidents related to unlicensed drivers; 1,838 citations were issued and 121 people were arrested, Mansoor said. Of those 121 arrested, 72 were detained by ICE. Mansoor questioned why the legal statuses of those getting citations were not verified.

Costa Mesa's current anti-solicitation ordinance targeted at day laborers is being challenged by the civil and immigrants rights groups. The city also spent about $500,000 defending itself and the mayor in a federal lawsuit alleging that an immigrants' rights advocate's right to free speech was violated.

In December 2009, a federal jury determined that the city didn't violate Benito Acosta's right to free speech when he was ejected from a 2006 council meeting after speaking against the city's proposal to enforce federal immigration policies.

More needs to be done to crack down on illegal immigration, the mayor said. He said the city should look at requiring businesses, especially those who contract out with the city, to use E-Verify. He also questioned the validity of Matricular Consular cards as valid forms of identification.

"So today, I'm asking our chief, our police officers and state elected officials to address these concerns," he said. "I would ask our president and our Congress to address these things, but I know they will not. Many of them have no desire to uphold the immigration laws or realize the negative impact of illegal immigration at the local level. If they did, they would be upholding the current laws."

Staff Writer Cindy Carcamo contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: epak@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/news/immigrat ... nsoor.html