Skepticism and approval highlight rift

Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon were two different worlds for Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting he faced critics ? including two council members ? who picked apart the immigration enforcement plan that he spearheaded.

Wednesday, his efforts got applause from a Republican women’s group at Newport’s Balboa Bay Club.

The two events illustrate the deep division in the community and the nation over how to handle illegal immigration and the problems attributed to it.

Mansoor’s answer is to train city police to check the immigration status of criminal suspects. In December the council agreed, by a 3-2 vote, to create an enforcement plan that mirrors one being developed by Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona.

But Councilwomen Linda Dixon and Katrina Foley, who voted against the plan, aren’t satisfied that it will do anything other than cost the city money and take police officers away from their regular work. They put Police Chief John Hensley on the business end of some very pointed questions at Tuesday’s meeting.

Foley asked whether having city police conduct immigration checks would ensure that people identified as illegal immigrants will be deported. Dixon asked if it would guarantee that deportees won’t reenter the country.

The answers were no.

Responding to a question from Dixon, Hensley said about 150 “serious crimes,” such as robberies, rapes and murders, occur annually in Costa Mesa. He didn’t know how many of the crimes are committed by U.S. citizens.

Foley asked whether any police chiefs in Orange County support having their officers enforce immigration laws. Hensley said he wasn’t aware of any.

Dixon concluded that training police for immigration enforcement won’t do much besides take officers off city streets and away from Costa Mesa.

“We really would like the federal government to pass some immigration reform that actually makes sense for our country and that would also protect and secure the borders,” Foley said.

“I don’t believe, based on the communications that I’ve received tonight from the chief ? [and other law enforcement officials], that this is actually going to prevent any crime in our community,” Foley said.

As a response to Dixon and Foley, Mansoor said, “I think instead of looking for reasons to not enforce the law, we should be looking to uphold the oath [of office] that we took.”

Things went much better for Mansoor on Wednesday, when he found a much friendlier audience in the Balboa Bay Republican Women Federated.

After a meal of salad and salmon, Mansoor told the lunch crowd he ran for office after becoming frustrated that elected officials didn’t respond to his concerns about the community.

He said he doesn’t understand how anyone can oppose Costa Mesa’s immigration enforcement plan.

When asked whether other cities have supported the plan, Mansoor said he’d like to see a comprehensive approach to immigration enforcement by other Orange County cities and the Sheriff’s Department.

“They’re looking at this because Costa Mesa is the first city in the nation to propose something like this,” he said. “Ultimately it’s going to depend on demand from the public.”

He was applauded for his courage, and one woman asked, “How can we get our federal government to think like you’re thinking?”

Speak up, he told them, and vote.

“Ask the hard questions,” he said. “You have to find people to run [for office] that are going to uphold the law.”

QUESTION

Is Costa Mesa in step with the rest of the nation regarding immigration issues? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4664 or send e-mail to [email protected]. Please spell your name and tell us your hometown and phone numbers for verification purposes only.