City Officials Bitter Over End of INS Jail Program

Officials condemned the Immigration and Naturalization Service on Saturday for ending a pilot program to identify and deport illegal immigrants, calling the decision “intolerable” and “insulting.”

Since March, the INS has stationed two agents at Anaheim City Jail to identify, detain and place a hold on illegal immigrants so that they won’t be released on bond. The pilot program was terminated Friday.

Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), joined by Anaheim City Councilman Bob Zemel, cited evidence from a study conducted by Anaheim police last fall showing that about 35% of all arrestees were in the country illegally.

“Without an INS presence, 232 illegal aliens would have been released,” Rohrabacher said. “That was in two months. Over a year, we’re talking about thousands of people who would be released to wreak havoc on the community. This is an absolute travesty. Their highest priority should be illegals breaking the law.”

But a 60-day study by immigration authorities found that 24% of the people taken to the jail were illegal immigrants. Many had been arrested for minor offenses such as disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. About 10% were deemed “deportable” under federal law that stipulates only the most serious offenders be returned to their homelands, leading the agency to conclude that the presence of two agents was not justified.

Richard K. Rogers, director of the Los Angeles district of the INS, said he is better off assigning more agents to the county jail, which serves more than one city.

“My resources are much more effective with the county jail,” Rogers said.

But others disagree.

“This is the most effective program we have,” said Harald Martin, treasurer of the Anaheim Police Assn. “It brings people to justice and removes them from the community.”

The city’s rush to rid Anaheim of illegal immigrants hastened after the Sept. 8, 1995, shooting of Police Officer Tim Garcia by an illegal immigrant who had been deported twice.

“It’s a simple and effective solution to an ever-increasing problem,” said Patrick Quaney, 64, a community activist from Fountain Valley. “Illegal aliens should never have been into the country. If they were arrested for breaking our laws, they should be not be released to break our laws again.”