By John Earl

(March 7, 2006)

Reeling from pointed public comments and revealing testimony from police Chief John Hensley, Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor tried but failed to silence fellow City Council member Katrina Foley as she attacked his proposal to use police as immigration law eLooking upnforcers under the auspices of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau of the U.S. Department of Justice.

But unlike last January 3rd when the Mayor shut down the City Council chambers to silence immigrant rights advocate Coyotl Tezcalipoca, who was dragged off to jail, Foley held her ground.

Forewarned of trouble, the Minuteman Mayor made a preemptive strike by reciting his sacred oath of office, including the words “I will defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of California against all enemies foreign and domestic,” obviously alluding to Costa Mesa’s undocumented Mexican and Central American immigrants.

That soliloquy brought a tart reply from Foley: “I wish I had the Declaration of Independence to read here tonight, but I didn’t come prepared.”

The night’s fracas, one of an ongoing series to occur in the Costa Mesa City Council chambers since the January 3rd melee, occurred over Foley and Dixon’s inability to find evidence supporting the Mayor’s claim that having police enforce immigration law will make the city safer for its residents.

The Mayor’s usual allies, Eric Bever and Gary Monahan (Minutemen at heart if not by membership), showed none of the legendary courage of the Minuteman Project’s namesake. They sat silently as Foley and Dixon, helped by a reluctant Chief Hensley, sliced and diced the Mayor’s ICE into snippets of the embarrassing truth: that ICE will squander tax resources and endanger public safety by taking police away from their regular duties.

Under questioning, Hensley revealed that of the estimated 150 serious crimes (including one murder) committed each year in Costa Mesa (per five years), there is no data on how many are committed by non-citizens or illegal immigrants. But the Minuteman Junta’s ICE proposal would only duplicate services already provided by ICE agents at the Orange County Jail, where all inmates end up, even if there were a need for it.

In fact, as OCO previously reported, any law enforcement agency can inquire 24/7 about the legal status of any immigrant suspected of or held for a crime (Note: police are required by law to ask the citizenship of all booked suspects).

Under questioning by Foley, the Chief admitted that the supposed one time cost of $200,000 for tHensleyraining police officers in proper ICE procedures is not a one time cost. Due to normal officer rotation allowed in the city’s contract with the police union, up to that cost could be incurred each year just for training, indefinitely. Also, costs due to changing job descriptions could require re-negotiation of work contracts and hundreds of thousands of dollars more in costs–up to $1.5 million according to a previous estimate by city staff.

In addition to higher costs, the program will create layers of addition paper work that will draw police officers away from their normal duties for half a shift for each immigrant processed. “So, there’s basically not a whole lot more that ICE will provide us except taking our officers off the street protecting Costa Mesa residents?” Dixon asked Chief Hensley.

“If you believe that having local control is important enough to implement this policy, then that’s what we should do,” Hensley replied.

But the Chief added that once criminal suspects are routinely taken to either the county jail or the immigration detention center in Westminster the city loses any control over whether they are deported or reenter the country after being deported.

The great irony of the ICE proposal, which has been promoted as a law and order issue—“we are a nation of laws,” the Minuteman Mayor often says—was revealed when Foley asked Hensley if law enforcement favored using police officers to identify undocumented immigrants.

Foley: “When you were first consulted about this program you did not support it, isn’t that correct?”

Hensley: “That is true.”

Foley: “Are you aware of any chief of police in the county of Orange that supports participation in such a program?”

Hensley: “I am not.”

Foley: “How about any police chief in the United States?”

Hensley: “Well, I know there’s at least one because I got an email from him.”
Katrina

Foley: “As far as your expertise, do you think this ICE training will actually help our officers prevent crime?”

Hensley: “I plead the Fifth. Your honor, you know, I don’t have any facts and that is what my business is about...”

When the Mayor got his turn he asked Hensley if it wasn’t true that the city needed its own ICE program in order to identify previously deported immigrants who returned to the country. The correct answer is “no,” because ICE already provides that service to any law enforcement agency that calls it on the phone. But Hensley, trying to be diplomatic in a tight spot, responded that he would have to first know details of the Sheriff’s ICE plan–information that is now unavailable—since it will be the model for Costa Mesa. “So I can’t give you a solid answer on that,” he answered.

“Fair enough,” the Mayor responded.

Out of thin air, the Minuteman Mayor then downplayed the need for the very program that he has depicted as an important crime fighting tool for the city. ICE will be “just an option,” he said, “not something we’re going to have to use every five minutes.” Now, the Mayor seemed to say, the city should spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an option that it doesn’t really need, after all.

Desperately trying to revive justification for his melting ICE proposal, the Mayor once again became the patriot upholding is sacred oath of office.

“I think that instead of looking for reason not to enforce the law, we should be looking to uphold the oath that we took,” he opined in a tone of finality.

But the skirmish wasn’t over yet.

“Mr. Mayor,” Foley interjected with her disarmingly petite voice. “...I don’t think council member Dixon nor myself believe that anyone should get away with breaking the law. I think that what our position is that this is a federal immigration issue and that we would really like the Federal government to have some immigration reform that actually makes sense for our country.”

“You prepared a letter [to President Bush] bu didn’t give a report for it,” interrupted the Minuteman Mayor.

Foley: “Excuse me—and that would also protect and secure the borders so that we couldzeig heil02 actually function with local law enforcement”—

Minuteman Mayor (speaking to a member of the audience who stood to give Hensley a Nazi salute): “If the members of the audience could sit down please. Thank you.”

Man who gave the Nazi salute: “You’re welcome.”

Foley (continuing her sentence): “...to use their time efficiently to deal with robberies, burglaries, prevention of car accidents, things of that nature that would actually benefit...our residents. Because I don’t believe, based on the communication that I have received tonight from the Chief, the communication that I have received from talks with other law enforcement...that this is actually going to prevent any crime in our community. And–“

BeverAnd then the Minuteman Mayor, a strong believer in a “nation of laws,” violated city code as he tried to shut Foley up in the middle of her sentence. “I am going to make a motion to receive and file Item Number One.”

Foley: “Excuse me, Mr. Mayor, I would”–

Mayor: “Call for a second.”

Foley: “...respectfully request the I be allowed to finish my comments. This is a pattern that you have of interrupting people and preventing them from finishing their statements.”

The obvious reference to the treatment of Tezcalipoca, which has resulted in a civil rights lawsuit against the city, brought down the house with hoots and laughter.

“You bring it on yourself,” Foley said, looking directly at the Minuteman Mayor.

Befuddled, the Minuteman Mayor sat silently as Foley finished by praising Hensley’s Stoicism and requesting that “we be allowed to continue to conduct our city business in a way where this is not such a distraction.”

“It’s a motion and a second,” the Minuteman Mayor continued, obliviously. “Call the question.”

For a summary of the Cold Hard Facts About Costa Mesa’s ICE Program, click this sentence with your mouse.

To access related links and view more photos and video, please go to http://www.ocorganizer.com/html/minuteman_mayor.html

For a summary of the cold hard facts about Costa Mesa's ICE proposal, go to http://www.ocorganizer.com/html/ice_cold_facts.html

Costa Mesa's Minuteman Mayor, Allan Monsoor, like to prevent people from speaking out against his ICE proposal at Council meetings, but he couldn't stop Katrina Foley.

As a resident of Costa Mesa I must say that we support our mayor in his actions 100%.
Make no mistake, Foley will be gone.

As to the correlation between crime and the influx of illegal aliens in our city:
In the fiscal year 2004, the city of Costa Mesa reports a rise in the population of illegal immigrants to be 84%.
On the same exact day a report released by the Costa Mesa police dept on crime states that in the fiscal year 2004 crime in the city of Costa Mesa rose by 84%.
Anyone who thinks there is no connection is absolutely ignorant.

Costa Mesa was a great city until our former mayor and city council made the erronious decision to open a day labor center west of 19th st on Superior, at which time we began to be glutted with illegal immigrants.
Incidents of burglaries, assault, smash and grabs, attempted molestation and rape, forced entry and destruction of property in the vicinity of the day labor center escalated. 19th street became a filthy embarrassment.
As illegal aliens moved in, often living 20 to an apartment (or garage), our city began to deteriorate.

We the people of Costa Mesa elected our mayor and the very city council members whom this ridiculous article call "minutemen" to do exactly what they are doing, exactly what you don't like.
Here's an idea, you elect a mayor and city council in your city who will open your city to illegal aliens, let thousands of them move into your neighborhood, in fact take Foley, please.
I gaurantee you that you will be the next person signing up for the minuteman project.

> As a resident of Costa Mesa I must say that
> we support our mayor in his actions 100%.

Typical Republicanism: proclaim to speak for everyone even when you're in the vanishing small minority.

Pretty silly.

I am also a resident of Costa Mesa and a legal resident of the U.S. I have been living in Costa Mesa all my life and have never had a problem with immigrants, both legal and illegal. Immagrants do not bring crime, the bring diversity and culture. Costa Mesa, and Orange County in general, needs as much culture and diversity as it can get. Affluent Anglos like to blame people with brown skin for everything wrong with their city, which is blatantly racist and wrong. Unless your a Native American, your family came here as immagrants to at one point in time, so what right do you have to deny these people the right to work and live?

And have lived in Costa Mesa all of my life.
Judging from your response you do NOT live in Costa Mesa, and probably have never visited our city at all, You don't have a clue as to what you are talking about, if you had spent any time in our city, you would know that what I wrote is the reality of the situation.
As to the previous posters comments about "rich white people", I am neither rich nor white, so shove it up your racist la raza behind.

What The Public Wants

In the same way that he cites non-existent evidence that ICE is needed to freeze serious criminals out of Costa Mesa's social fabric, Mansoor claims that Costa Mesa residents demand it.

In an online interview with www.immigrantwatchdog.org, which has a sister website (www.workplacewatchdog.org) that shows videos in which Don Silva is heard or seen harassing immigrants and arguably committing extortion against employers at day labor centers, the Mayor tells the interviewer, probably also Silva, that the issue of illegal immigration has reached a “boiling point” and that local citizens are crying out to have their immigration laws enforced.

The statement is misleading, of course, because wanting to enforce immigration laws doesn't necessarily mean supporting the city's ICE plan. And there has been little sign of any demand for it at Costa Mesa city council meetings where most who have spoken in favor of it were from outside of the city—many apparently from the Minuteman Project. Likewise, a stack of emails to the city viewed several weeks ago revealed a large number of supporters from across the country, but only a small number from city residents.

A larger group of Costa Mesa residents opposed to the ICE proposal has spoken out at city council meetings, but many of them are immigrants who presumably can't vote yet and whose opinions are not likely to move the city council's Minuteman majority. But a local businessman recently presented the city council with a petition containing almost 700 signature of Costa Mesa residents opposed to having police enforce immigration laws.

(Note: Now well over a thousand signatures from Costa Mesa residents opposed to the ICE plan have been collected with more reportedly on the way)

The above is an excerpt from "What have you done to Costa Mesa" at http://www.ocorganizer.com/html/city_council.html

I lived there in Costa Mesa near the police station, and attended Costa Mesa High School and Orange Coast College across the street. I used to attend the annual fair there at the old fairgrounds every year.

From all the testimony and comments by the Mayor, iut looks to me like his ploy was a political one -- he wanted voters to believe he was doing something about illegal Mexicans. That diverting police officers from serious crimes and from patrols adversely impacts the helth and safety of the citizens of Costa Mesa probably was not even considered -- or if it was, the Mayor felt it was worth screwing the citizens to curry political favors from racists.

It's possible that the Mayor needs to be recalled. If he's actually deliberatly trying to place his political postureing above the safety of the citizens, he needs to be recalled.

My opinions only and only my opinions.

I guess they let anyone in Costa Mexico...Did you ride your bike there too?

dont forget we are americans too. and we dont agree with the costa mesa's mayor.

Yar, take that you reactionary so and sos.
KMAist agrees with me.
Love the Irish.
They have been kicked around by assholes too.
Good people.