6 Congressmen Seek to Keep INS at Anaheim Jail

The federal government’s plans to end U.S. citizenship checks at the Anaheim City Jail has drawn a strong protest from members of the Orange County congressional delegation.

In a letter sent Wednesday to U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner, the six local congressmen argued that the experimental program to post two INS agents at the jail was successful enough to warrant its continuation.

The congressmen declared that the decision to end the pilot program in two weeks “is unacceptable.”

“Congress has been very generous in funding the INS and it should be clear that keeping criminal aliens off our streets is your highest priority,” stated the letter drafted by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), and also signed by Reps. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar), Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) and Ed Royce (R-Fullerton).

A spokesman for the INS did not respond on Wednesday to the congressmen’s request.

Since late March, the INS has worked at the Anaheim City Jail to identify and detain illegal immigrants so that they will not be released on bond.

A 60-day study by immigration authorities found that 24% of the people taken to the jail were illegal immigrants. Also, many were arrested for minor offenses, such as disorderly conduct, leading the agency to conclude that the presence of two agents was not justified.

The INS has decided the manpower can be used more efficiently at the Orange County Jail and serve more than just one city.

Since late June, only one agent has been checking the immigration status of Anaheim jail inmates.

Rohrabacher noted that of the 451 inmates found by the INS to be illegal immigrants, 45% were transferred to the Orange County Jail and 55% were turned over to the INS. “Without an INS presence in the [Anaheim] jail, 232 illegal aliens would have been released to the streets,” Rohrabacher said in a statement.

“The Anaheim jail project is one of the most cost-effective and efficient uses of INS resources possible,” stated the letter from the congressmen.

“Large numbers of illegal aliens are turned over to the INS for deportation with minimal effort by your agency.”

An aide to Rohrabacher also argued that by shifting the agents to the county jail, only those illegal immigrants who are accused of the more serious crimes will be identified, and the process will occur as the inmates leave the criminal justice system instead of when they go in.

A six-month continuation of the Anaheim INS project is included in the Immigration Reform Act now pending in Congress.