Instead, Costa Mesa Police Chief Steven Staveley and other city officials met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday and agreed to put a federal agent in the city jail for 40 to 50 hours a week to ensure all people arrested in Costa Mesa are checked for immigration violations, either in the city jail or at the Orange County jail.
"We clearly have enough arrestees whose legal status is questionable to make this worthwhile," said Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, who in December 2005 suggested the city take on immigration enforcement.
"As we analyze the progress of the program I believe it will show immediate and long-term benefits."
The result of the new city and county programs is that more people suspected of crimes here will have their citizenship checked and may be deported.
Federal immigration officers used to make immigration checks at the Costa Mesa jail, but decreased their visits when resources became strained after Sept. 11, 2001. There are federal checks at the county jail, but Sheriff Mike Carona has said just 20% of some 15,000 foreign nationals booked there in 2005 were screened for immigration violations.
Jim Hayes, the Los Angeles field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he estimates about 250 people a month will be screened at the Costa Mesa jail, regardless of the crime they're suspected of committing.
"It's going to be the equivalent of 24/7 coverage, and it's probably going to amount to a little less than 10 interviews a day," he said.
Although it's hard to predict before the program starts, Hayes said, he guessed as many as 75 to 100 people per month who get screened in Costa Mesa may turn out to be in the U.S. illegally. Hayes proposed the plan two weeks ago.
