Officers Ask Tougher Laws on Illegals

The Anaheim Police Assn. will seek the City Council’s backing of a resolution today calling for tougher federal laws aimed at illegal immigrants.

The resolution, which was recently passed by the 380-member police union, urges federal legislators to permit local, county and state law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected illegal immigrants. The resolution also calls for illegal immigration to become a felony offense.

“All we’re after is another tool,” said union President Bruce Bottolfson, who is concerned about illegal immigrants endangering the lives of police and the public.

“We have no intention of going to someone’s home. We have have no intention of going to someone’s workplace,” Bottolfson said. But if a suspicious-looking person is loitering in a park, for instance, Bottolfson said he wants officers to have the power to check for identification and make an arrest if appropriate.

This latest move goes along with the police union’s resolution last year that sought to have the Immigration and Naturalization Service post agents at the City Jail.

After the council and a number of federal and state legislators endorsed the concept, the INS stationed agents at the jail to determine how many arrestees were in the country illegally.

The future of the program is largely dependent on the fate of an immigration reform bill being considered by federal lawmakers.

Councilman Bob Zemel, who spearheaded the effort to bring INS agents to the jail, said he is “absolutely in support” of the latest police union resolution.