Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS. : COUNTY : Border Patrol Continues Campaign to Sweep Illegal Aliens Off Streets
It was the fourth sweep for illegal aliens in Orange County in eight days, and this time U.S. Border Patrol agents nabbed 143.
Early Thursday morning, immigration agents targeted workers congregated on street corners in Orange and Santa Ana, and chased those who fled, even onto Orange County Rapid Transit District buses.
Among those arrested, however, was a pregnant woman who turned out to be a legal resident. The woman, who told officials she was not carrying her immigration papers because she was afraid to lose them, was later released.
Since August, agents have arrested more than 800 illegal aliens in Orange County, said Emanuel M. Steenbakker, assistant patrol agent in charge of the San Clemente Border Patrol station.
The raids, however, drew quick criticism from several Latino groups. Their spokesman, Nativo Lopez, on Friday accused Harold Ezell, regional director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, of ordering the raids to gain support for stricter immigration laws.
However, a spokesman for Ezell said the raids were being ordered because of complaints by business people and residents in the areas where the illegal aliens have been arrested.
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