Costa Mesa is the only or among very few cities nationwide that currently has a dedicated ICE agent in its jail. The results of the first six months of the ICE agent's service provide new and essential information which is relevant to the discussion of SB 1348. We feel that the removal of hundreds of criminals from our society is a positive step forward, not something to defend from a handful of vocal dissenters. The deportation of individuals who have committed crimes clearly demonstrates we are being accountable to our community by upholding the law, and that the existing law is not "broken" but simply needs to be upheld at all levels of government.
According to an article in the Pilot ("Six-month mark for jail checks," June 2), Jim Hayes, Los Angeles field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, recently described our situation as follows: "Certainly I think if you talk to the people in Costa Mesa, what they were looking for was a solution to what they perceived and what now we would say — and I think rightly so — was a crisis," he said. "I think this works better for them than any other program would."
That comment clearly speaks to the relevance of our experience. Many of our elected federal officials remain undecided on the issue of SB 1348, and their vote is important to the outcome. We would be remiss in our duties if we did not communicate with them.
Regarding our letter to President Bush, the editorial concluded: "Now that it's done, the council needs to get back to the business at hand and go to work on city issues … maybe then the council will do something that truly improves the quality of life of its residents. Now that would be something to write home about."
