Anaheim Police Union Wants INS Agent at City Jail : Crime: Shootout between officer and twice-deported immigrant sparks request. U.S. official says plan is feasible.

A shootout between an Anaheim police officer and an illegal immigrant who had been deported twice has prompted the police officers’ union to ask for an immigration officer to be stationed at the Anaheim City Jail.

“We’re seeing a rise in problems with illegal aliens, especially in narcotics,” said Officer Harald Martin, the association’s treasurer. “The shooting of our officer has prompted us to say enough is enough.”

A resolution by the association’s 10-member board calls for the City Council, the city manager and the chief of police “to aggressively deal with the problem of illegal alien criminals within the City of Anaheim.”

On Sept. 8, Officer Tim Garcia, 28, fatally shot a man in a motel near Disneyland and was himself shot in the thigh and pelvis. The shootout occurred after a 911 call reported that someone of the suspect’s description had pistol-whipped and fired at someone.

Garcia remains in stable condition at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange. The other man, whose name has still not been released, died of multiple gunshot wounds. Officials said the Immigration and Naturalization Service had twice sent the suspect back to Mexico.

The police association, with a membership of 350 officers, is asking for an INS officer to spend up to three hours a day at the jail, a detention center for arrestees awaiting court hearings. Martin said the INS officer would be able to put a “hold” on arrestees to prevent their release.

“We’re often on a merry-go-round,” Martin said. “We arrest them and then they’re released. Arrested then released. We feel that having an INS officer would put the message out to illegal alien criminals that you can’t go through our front door and walk out our back door anymore.”

Ron Rogers, a spokesman for the INS regional office in Laguna Niguel, said the idea is feasible. “This is the kind of cooperation we welcome.”

Rogers said that in the past couple of years, the agency has seen an unprecedented infusion of manpower and support from Congress and the Clinton Administration.

“I would imagine if other jails want to have us there, we would certainly look into and make it our top priority,” he said. “Our job is to remove illegal criminals.”

The police association’s request is patterned on a Clinton pilot program begun in June at the Los Angeles County Jail, where INS officials are placed around the clock.

Anaheim Police Chief Randall Gaston declined to take a position on the association’s proposal, saying he would first like to see results from Los Angeles County’s program.

The union’s resolution is expected to be presented at the City Council meeting Tuesday. The council must make the official request.