"The individual's time was up, he was asked to step away from the podium. He got angry and refused to follow the instructions of the officers," Costa Mesa Police Chief John Hensley said.
Tezcalipoca was arrested on suspicion of disrupting the council meeting and obstructing a police officer. Police said that he would be released Tuesday night and that he promised to appear in court.
Some said Tezcalipoca was treated unfairly.
Theresa Dang, a friend of Tezcalipoca, said video of the meeting will show that Tezcalipoca's three minutes of speaking time wasn't up and that the arrest was unnecessary.
Under the immigration enforcement plan, some Costa Mesa police officers would be trained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and would then be able to check the immigration status of criminal suspects in the course of their regular duties. If necessary, suspects could be detained and turned over to federal immigration authorities.
If the plan proceeds, Costa Mesa could become the first city to take on immigration enforcement duties.
Tezcalipoca is with the Tonantzin Collective, a group opposing the plan. The group has demanded that the council reopen the city's Job Center, a resource for day laborers that was closed Saturday after 17 years of operation. The group also asked that the immigration enforcement plan be withdrawn. Group members asked for recall of the three council members -- Mayor Allan Mansoor and Councilmen Eric Bever and Gary Monahan -- who supported the Job Center closure and immigration plan.
"There's a large segment of this population, of this community that does not support the city's plans," said Dang of Westminster.
