COSTA MESA : Ex-INS Head Decries Job Center Takeover

A former chief of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service said Wednesday that he has urged the state to reconsider its planned takeover of the Costa Mesa job center because the city “clearly serves illegal aliens.”

Alan C. Nelson, commissioner of the INS from 1981 to 1989 and now a legal consultant on immigration issues, also said the state Employment Development Department should review its policy on immigration and begin requiring applicants to prove their legal status at its job centers statewide.

“The department ought to be checking the legal status of the workers before hiring them out,” said Nelson, who is a consultant for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a public interest group that wants to set a ceiling on legal immigration.

“If you allow Costa Mesa or Los Angeles to set up these off-street hiring setups, you’re helping (illegal aliens) get jobs. They’re setting up a hiring mechanism that skirts the immigration reform bill,” Nelson said.

EDD spokeswoman Anita Mackenzie said Wednesday that the department has no plans to review its current policy because the courts have ruled that state agencies cannot enforce federal immigration laws.

Mackenzie said the department has made no decision about taking over the job center and declined to comment on what may be holding up the agreement. Mackenzie said she had no information on whether the department is considering Nelson’s advice.

Nelson said he intervened in the state’s plan to assume operation of the job center at the urging of former City Councilman Orville Amburgey, who was voted out of office in November.

Amburgey, who had promoted a number of policies aimed at curbing illegal immigration while on the council, helped to create the job center in 1988. It subsequently was used as a model for similar job centers in the county and throughout the country.

However, the city was criticized for requiring job applicants to prove they were in the country legally. The council voted in February to relinquish control of the center to the state and had suspended requirements for proving residency.

City officials said Wednesday that the job center guidelines were revised because the state had originally been eager to assume control.

Mayor Mary Hornbuckle expressed concern at the state’s inaction.

“Thanks to our friend Mr. Amburgey who has called into question the policy of not screening job applicants, the EDD is now somewhat reluctant to get involved,” Hornbuckle said. “It’s been a very frustrating process.”

City Manager Allan L. Roeder said Wednesday that the city has sent a letter to the employment department requesting a decision soon.

Roeder said the state’s delay in assuming control of the center could alter the city’s budget. The center is funded through June and would need about $60,000 in operating funds after that to stay open, Roeder said.

Amburgey has maintained that illegal immigrants take jobs from residents and that cities should be able to enforce immigration regulations that are usually the province of the federal government.

However, immigrants rights advocates have charged that such attempts unfairly target Latinos and are likely to promote discrimination on the basis of color.