A tale of two cities -- and two job centers

Huntington has avoided the divisive debates on employment centers and immigration that have roiled Costa Mesa. On a recent warm, winter morning at the Luis Ochoa Job Center in Huntington Beach, opportunity seemed to be evaporating as quickly as the morning dew.

By about 8 a.m., things looked completely dead. No one was coming by looking for workers, and the center was beginning to thin out. A few stragglers read the newspaper, seemingly uninterested in a tide of anti-immigration sentiment just one city over.

“I don’t think a lot of people here know about what’s going on in Costa Mesa,” said Nacho Serrano, supervisor of the Luis Ochoa Community Job Center.

Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach may share a border, but the two cities are worlds apart when it comes to immigration policy.

Take the job center. Costa Mesa officially shuttered its job center on Dec. 31, arguing the city shouldn’t be paying to provide employment for the private sector.

Huntington Beach, however, has never considered closing its center, located near the intersection of Gothard Street and Slater Avenue.

“The job center is not something I’m hearing a lot of people complain about when it comes to illegal immigration,” Councilman Don Hansen said.

The center requires its workers to provide some type of identification, but job-center staff are not trained to analyze workers’ immigration status.

“And if we have someone come here who is an illegal immigrant, we’re not going to turn them away,” Serrano said.

In addition, Huntington Beach Police Chief Ken Small said his agency adamantly opposes any attempt to have local police officers enforce immigration laws. Costa Mesa recently passed an ordinance calling for the training of some officers to enforce immigration policy when a major crime is committed. Small said that policy would not work for Huntington.

“Federal immigration laws are best enforced by federal officials,” Small said. Huntington Beach’s police force just isn’t equipped to do immigration checks on everyone it comes into contact with, or brings into custody, he added.

“We just don’t have the officers. We’re just so razor tight,” Councilwoman Cathy Green said. “Our population swells so much during the summer, I don’t think immigration issues are something we can handle.”

Besides resources, police department officials want to maintain a good rapport with the city’s immigrant population, Small said.

“Many in law enforcement feel that [immigration enforcement] will impair community relations between the police and community members. The police really rely on trust and confidence of that relationship,” said Douglas Keegan of the northern California Immigration Project. “If they’re seen as someone who picks people up and takes people away for immigration violations, it usually hurts that relationship.”

Hansen said voters in the district frequently express concerns about illegal immigration, but he’s not sure what policies Huntington Beach should enact to deal with the issues.

“Costa Mesa is obviously sticking its neck out on this one,” he said, adding that he would be watching the issue closely.

“If there are steps people in Huntington Beach can take to battle illegal immigration, then I’m all for it,” he said.

QUESTION

Is the city on the right track in dealing with immigration issues? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4691 or send e-mail to hbindependent@ latimes.com. Please spell your name and include your hometown and phone number for verification purposes.20060209iepgvlkfMARK C. DUSTIN / INDEPENDENT(LA)Day Laborers outside the Costa Mesa Job Center hold up their numbers as a prospective employer pulls in. Costa Mesa closed its center on Dec. 31.