http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2006 ... rial17.txt

Published Saturday, December 16, 2006 10:09 PM PST
Opinion
EDITORIAL:
Information about immigration-check program must be supplied

Now that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have agreed to check the immigration status of suspects being held in the Costa Mesa jail, city leaders can finally put to rest the rancor of the past year over Mayor Allan Mansoor's plan to train the city's police to do the job.

And it will save the city's taxpayers the expense of training. It should be considered a victory for everyone.

Mansoor has acknowledged this and said he wants to focus now on new issues.

But he could get dragged back into the debate when residents see how often local officers arrest an illegal immigrant.

The issue of immigration checks became a highly politicized one. The mayor's opponents accused him of targeting the city's Latino community with a racist campaign.

He has consistently denied that and his supporters shot back that it was a law-and-order issue and questioned how anyone could approve of lawlessness.

Many are now waiting to see how many of those arrested are in the country illegally. Consider that Mansoor got a lot of political mileage by pointing out how a few illegal immigrants arrested in Costa Mesa were sex offenders.

So how will his opponents react if it's reported that only a smattering of those in the city's jails were in the country illegally? And if they had committed minor crimes?

Or how much will his supporters crow if it turns out the immigration checks reveal a high number of illegal immigrants in Costa Mesa?

Either way, Costa Mesa residents have a right to know. Authorities are obligated to let residents know how effective the federal government's program is.

As soon as federal and local officials can determine those statistics, we urge them to release them to the public.

Since Mansoor made this issue the major plank in his reelection campaign, it's fair to say the people have already spoken and want a crackdown on illegal immigration in Costa Mesa. So it's only fair to also say they have a right to know if the new program to combat the problem is working.
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3 comments left so far:

NewsJunkie wrote on December 17, 2006 10:00 AM:
"The way the public will view the results of this will depend solely on the "spin" the media gives it. I'm hopeful the new leadership at DP will report fairly and truthfully. In the past the reporting has been peppered (and salted and ketsuped and tabasco sauced) with the writers' own views. The media's role is to inform, not inoculate. "

Joe H wrote on December 17, 2006 9:53 AM:
""So how will his opponents react if it's reported that only a smattering of those in the city's jails were in the country illegally? And if they had committed minor crimes?" Is there a magic number of criminals that is acceptable to the Daily Pilot? When the car with the broken window and the stolen radio is in the parking lot behind the Daily Pilot is the crime still "minor"? "

M.Davies wrote on December 17, 2006 3:08 AM:
"Even if only 1 criminal illegal alien is taken off the streets, and deported in a year, it's still one less illegal alien here. You see, while we have enough of our own home-grown criminals terrorizing Americans, the last thing we need is to accept, retain, or import any criminals from abroad. Every crime committed by an illegal alien is completely preventable if they simply were not here. Let's not forget that. Let's not forget all the tens of thousands of Americans that have been victimized by crimes committed by illegal aliens. "