Police Begin Review of Officer’s Assist to Border Patrol

Local police have begun an internal review into whether an officer violated departmental policy by taking a suspected illegal immigrant to the Border Patrol checkpoint south of San Clemente after the suspect was caught selling food illegally at Centennial Park.

The incident has prompted some concern and charges of betrayal from local Latinos, who question whether the Police Department overstepped its jurisdiction by involving itself in an immigration issue.

But authorities say such assistance is standard practice around the state. In fact, they say, U.S. Border Patrol agents invite it.

“It’s just one less person we have to pick up,” said Ted Swofford, spokesman for the Border Patrol’s San Diego sector, which includes the San Clemente checkpoint.

Sgt. Art Echternacht, community relations officer for the Santa Ana police, acknowledged that an internal review of the incident is under way but said, “I can’t discuss the details.”

He also declined to discuss departmental policy on the handling of such immigration matters or to identify the officer involved.

According to an account provided by a park official and another vendor and confirmed by Echternacht, Centennial Park rangers last Wednesday questioned a suspected illegal immigrant who had been cited several times before for operating a pushcart in the park without a permit.

The vendor, 18-year-old Rojelio Garcia, was selling fruit, pork rinds and ice cream, said Ken Poole, supervisor of rangers at Centennial.

He had been cited at least twice before in recent weeks for operating without a permit--and on one occasion had refused to give his name, Poole said. This time, the supervisor said, he refused to tell rangers who his employer was.

As a result, Poole said, the rangers called in the Santa Ana police. Garcia was then taken by an unidentified officer to the Border Patrol checkpoint. Garcia could not be reached for comment.

Poole said that while city parks have now discontinued the practice, they have on rare occasions detained illegal immigrants suspected of violating ordinances, and have themselves driven the immigrants to the Border Patrol checkpoint.

“It comes to the point where you’ve exhausted everything else,” he said.

But local Latinos and rights activists said they were angered by the Garcia incident.

Another vendor, whose wife was taken to the San Clemente checkpoint last June by a park ranger after being cited for illegally operating a pushcart in Centennial Park, said, “This should not be happening.”

Told of the latest incident, Santa Ana Councilman John Acosta said: “It sounds like it’s inappropriate the way it was handled. I don’t know that we should be doing the INS’s work.”

In the midst of severe budget belt-tightening, he added, “we cannot afford to let one policeman out of the city.”

Nativo Lopez of Santa Ana, co-director of the Latino immigration rights group National Mexican Brotherhood, said he believes that the handling of the Garcia case violated the spirit of promises from the Santa Ana police to stay out of immigration issues.

“They have no business enforcing federal immigration laws,” Lopez said. “They alienate themselves from the Latino community, and they destroy whatever confidence exists toward the Police Department.”

Times staff writer Gebe Martinez contributed to this report.