Policy will make our city safer

I would like to respond to some of the recent letters to the editor and the editorial that appeared recently in the Daily Pilot regarding my policy proposal to enforce our federal immigration laws. I would also like to clarify what this proposed policy would and would not do. I would also like to state that I fully support legal immigration.

The proposed policy is to train our police officers and jail personnel in the enforcement of our immigration laws. The authority comes from a law passed by Congress, and the training would be done through and under the guidance of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It would simply be done through the normal course of an officer’s daily duties if he or she arrests or detains someone for another crime.

There would be no sweeps for enforcement of only immigration laws. In other words, there must be another crime involved first.

Often, if someone is in this country illegally and he or she breaks a law, he or she is either cited and released, or if he or she serves time, he or she is then released back into society. It is inaccurate to think that all such people are deported. This is why police departments are looking at this for their custody officers. So this type of enforcement will make the city safer for everyone, even those who are here illegally but are otherwise law abiding.

In last weekend’s edition of the Daily Pilot, there was an editorial and also an opinion expressed by former Police Chief Dave Snowden. Their focus was on why this could not and should not work.

But even the Pilot acknowledged we have a problem. It cited a report that said that illegal immigration’s cost to California was more than $10 billion a year and that educating immigrants and their children costs $7.7 billion.

Notice it said “immigrants” and not “illegal immigrants.”

My parents and people like them who immigrated legally are not the topic of discussion. Illegal immigration is. The Pilot also acknowledged that “providing health care cost $1.4 billion” and that “keeping the ones who commit crimes in prison cost another $1.4 billion.” We, as taxpayers, are paying for this.

The Pilot gave a silly example of what this proposed policy would not do. It wondered if “a blond man with a German accent would be treated the same as a Latino man with a Spanish accent.” The answer is yes because the issue is not accents or nationality of origin but legal status in this country. They would be asked the same questions if they could not properly identify themselves, just as you or I would.

The staff report even acknowledges that the training that Immigration and Customs Enforcement provides focuses on “immigration law, civil rights, intercultural relations and the issues and illegalities surrounding racial profiling.”

The Pilot even mentions that “having a Spanish accent is far from probable cause that a person is in this country illegally.” That is exactly right! The paper is making irresponsible statements that have nothing to do with the proposed policy. Legitimate probable cause would already have been established before this policy kicked in.

It was also mentioned that this “would practically destroy any working relationship police officers have with Costa Mesa’s Latino community.”

Where is the evidence? Where is the help when people commit crimes and then flee to Mexico? And again, are you talking about the legal or illegal community? The Pilot also talks about victims being afraid of going to the police. There is absolutely no focus on victims in this proposed policy, and I know many people of many different national origins who support enforcement of our laws. Stop trying to cause division by race.

The Pilot also mentions that “were there to be a national program involving law enforcement at all levels, the argument would be entirely different. There is the chance, then, that it could be effective.” I suggest to you that this program is it. The staff report mentions that “The United States Congress passed Section 287(g) as an amendment to the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act.” The participants so far are the state of Florida, Alabama Department of Public Safety, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the Arizona Department of Corrections. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is working on a proposal right now.

So I suggest it is time for Costa Mesa and other cities to get on board with the Pilot’s pro-enforcement argument on a national level.

After reading Snowden’s comments, I was very disappointed, as he is simply fanning the flames with ridiculous comments.

Snowden mentions that “it doesn’t matter (and shouldn’t) where a person is from” and that “our job as officers is to protect everyone in Costa Mesa.”

Yes, we should be trying to protect everyone. That is why the focus of this is on criminals and those legally detained for another offense. And yes, it should not matter where someone is from; the criteria are criminal offenses and legal status. This is not about race, and I am deeply offended by the chief’s irresponsible comments that it is. I am an American without a hyphen. My parents immigrated legally from Egypt and Sweden and this proposed policy would be applied equally to someone from the Middle East or Europe. We operate under the rule of law, and it’s time we got back to it.

The chief goes even further and says “the community should stand up and ask its elected officials just how these new police and immigrationenforcement deputies plan to distinguish an illegal immigrant from a U.S. citizen. Will they be required to ask only people with brown skin?”

The answer to the chief’s question is no. They will be required to follow the rule of law and the procedures they will be trained in under Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They will make the distinction by asking approved procedures that Immigration and Customs Enforcement currently uses and that have worked well in other jurisdictions.

Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce president Ed Fawcett made some equally unfounded comments saying that this is “ripe for abuse ... by residents who call police every time they see someone they think doesn’t belong in the city.”

I am very disappointed by these reckless comments. Again, there must be legal reasons to detain someone and the procedures established by Immigration and Customs Enforcement must be followed.

The American community is standing up and asking its elected officials to enforce the law. This policy is simply one more tool that the police will have to make our city a safer place to live.

* ALLAN MANSOOR is the mayor of Costa Mesa.

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