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Costa Mesa’s Illegal Immigration Plan -- A Huge Success
The Republican Party of Orange County regularly solicits the views and news of the state and federal delegation. Please read this week's Op-Ed by California State Senator Tom Harman
The number of illegal aliens being arrested in our local communities is startling, and our local law enforcement agencies are being taxed to their limits in dealing with this problem. It is absolutely unacceptable for local communities to have to bear the burden of this problem when it has clearly been created by the federal government’s failure to secure our borders.
In Costa Mesa, during the month of January, out of 441 individuals arrested, it was discovered that 57 were illegal aliens. Thanks to an innovative program that had been instituted in Costa Mesa however, a hold order was placed on all 57 individuals by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These criminals will not be free to go back on the streets of our communities to commit new crimes. Instead, they will be deported once their criminal charges have been cleared. It is interesting to note that all but one had come from Mexico or some other South American country. Most of them slipped illegally into our country by simply walking across our porous border with Mexico.
Meanwhile, over at the Orange County jail the number of illegal aliens arrested in January and brought to that facility was even worse than Costa Mesa’s. 425 for felonies (of which 56 were aggravated felonies such as rape); 214 for misdemeanors; and 54 were gang members, whose activities are nothing short of urban terrorism. These individuals will likewise have a hold placed on them and will be deported after their criminal charges have been cleared.
The ability to deport these criminals who are in our country illegally is the result of a new screening program that has recently been implemented in the jails run by Costa Mesa and Orange County. This new program requires jail deputies to screen all foreign nationals for immigration violations. In Costa Mesa, thanks to the efforts of Mayor Allan Mansoor, a federal ICE officer has been assigned to the jail on a 24/7 basis. In the Orange County jail, Sheriff Mike Carona has cross-deputized 25 of his deputies so that they are both California peace officers as well as federal immigration officers. As such, they have the legal authority to detain illegal immigrants and hold them for deportation. These new innovative approaches to dealing with illegal immigrants who commit criminal acts in California are a welcome relief as law enforcement agencies struggle to deal with the criminal activities of illegal aliens.
The federal government’s failure to control our borders and the lack of reimbursement from the federal government for costs associated with illegal immigration is pushing local governments to the fiscal breaking point. In California alone, the cost of illegal immigration for just three things: (1) education; (2) criminal justice; and (3) medical care is estimated to cost $10 billion a year.
As we all know, illegal aliens, by their very definition, have committed a crime. They are in this country illegally. The crimes committed by illegal aliens are completely preventable if we simply would secure our borders.
While the federal government sticks its head in the sand and does nothing about this problem, it is indeed refreshing to see that local officials like Sheriff Mike Carona and Mayor Allan Mansoor, acting on their own, have been able to bring some reasonable solutions to the problem. We should commend them for their leadership in attempting to rid our communities of illegal aliens that have committed criminal acts.
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