Thursday, November 16, 2006

ICEing Down The Costa Mesa Jail

Tonight Byron de Arakal, on his blog Itchingpost.com, apparently scooped the world by reporting that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will perform immigration screening of suspected aliens in the Costa Mesa Jail. The report is derived from an Orange County Register article posted online tonight which outlines the plan. Subsequently, the Daily Pilot provided online coverage, too.

This is a very interesting turn of events. Just two weeks ago Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, in a letter to the editor in the Daily Pilot, rejected as an unnecessary redundancy our young jailer/mayor's plan to cross designate Costa Mesa officers to perform this task. Following that announcement there was speculation that ICE wouldn't enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Costa Mesa for a variety of reasons - the sheriff's letter and costs being the primary reasons mentioned.

As reported at Itchingpost.com, via the Orange County Register, ICE will provide "one federal agent to staff the Costa Mesa jail, to check whether suspected criminals are in the country lawfully". According to the article, "illegal immigrants could be subject to deportation under the plan, which would be federally funded".

If this plan evolves as reported tonight, it certainly validates Mayor Mansoor's mantra about the federal government doing it's job by screening aliens. I suspect the emergency room at Hoag Hospital will be filled with Mansoor supporters tomorrow, as they seek treatment for the pulled muscles and hernias they get from strutting around, all puffed up with arrogant self-importance. Just when you thought they couldn't possibly be more obnoxious...

There are more than a couple questions as yet unanswered. For example, will the federal agent screen every single person brought to the jail? One report implies the answer is yes. Does this mean they will screen and recommend for deportation those folks brought to the jail for infractions that do not meet the mayor's criteria of dangerous felons? Can we expect to see folks charged with loitering, broken tail lights, jaywalking and other similar infractions being screened and deported?

It's really going to be interesting to watch this play out.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

One interesting side effect is that this leaves ICE in control rather than the police department.

They could just as easily roll back the project when and if they feel it is warranted. For example, when they realize they are duplicating the Sheriff's efforts, or when the political heat is off, or when the new leadership in congress decides not to fund such programs.

11/17/2006 08:08:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So what this basically all boils down to is that Mansoor and Leece's whole campaign, based on the immigration issue, was just an election stunt. I would not be completely surprised, based on their ethics in the election, if the whole thing was staged. If they didn't have the immigration hot button, then the voters would have seen their truly worthless natures.

11/17/2006 12:29:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jaywalking, loitering, broken taillights do not normally result in a trip to the jail. This should be the perfect solution for Bruce and Mike, after all they were against illegal aliens, just thought it should be done by the feds! Everyone should be on the same page. Oh...wait a minute..what about Foley? Look for a comment such as "if they don't get transported out of our jail to ICE in a timely manner, our jail will be full and we will have to release real criminals into the community. This will not help public safety." I truly believe she will say something to that effect. After all, she said Mansoor's proposed plan, not even implemented caused a spike in crime. Deport illegal drunk drivers! This was left out of the original list of crimes, along with spousal abuse. Now they will get their just rewards and get sent back to Poland, Mexico, Canada, Germany, or wherever they come from.

11/17/2006 07:28:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can't help but wonder, in the case of a moving violation, if the lack of a driver's license and/or valid registration will result in a trip to jail and a subsequent check of status? In the case of minor violations will the Mexico issued Matricular card serve to prevent a trip to jail to provide approved identification?

11/17/2006 09:19:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Matt,
you sound like a return to reason guy, you know, intolerant. "worthless natures?" You should run for council with Dixon and Foley next time! The three of you would not have to discuss issues, just name call (and then go down in flames). It wasn'tALL about immigration although it was a referendum on the issue. They also will ensure no job center run by our tax dollars, no thought police human relations committee, and, of course, they helped bring the ICE man to our jail if it turns out that way. Snowden claims he did it and we could have saved a lot of arguing if ICE would have been called in. But did he ever mention it in his letters to the Pilot? Of course he didn't. David Amin is quoted in the Times that ICE has pulled the rug from under Mansoor. This singular focus on Mansoor and having a new plan delights him! Of course, his constituents might like Mansoor's plan a little bit better once they realize ICE is going to screen ALL those brought to our jail, not just a short list of crimes. But hey, as long as the rug got pulled out from under Mansoor! (I suspect Mansoor likes the ICE program much better by the way)

11/18/2006 11:54:00 AM  

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