Heated Talk, No Action on Immigrants

The Anaheim City Council on Tuesday heard but took no action on a proposal to let the city seek immigration code enforcement powers for its police officers to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants.

After impassioned speeches by both sides, Mayor Tom Daly said the council will not consider the measure unless one of the other four members introduces it for debate.

“As far as I am concerned, the city should not be involved,” Daly said, eliciting both boos and cheers from the audience. “If any of you have a beef with immigration, you should deal with the Congress or the president of the United States. That is how this country is set up.”

Daly’s colleagues did not introduce the item for a council debate, but Councilman Frank Feldhaus said he thinks the issue needs further review.

“I don’t feel there is sufficient legal advice,” he said. “I want to keep the door open.”

Proponents of the controversial proposal vowed to continue their quest.

“The council has shown tonight they hold federal laws in contempt,” said Barbara Coe, chairwoman of the Huntington Beach-based California Coalition for Immigration Reform, which is backing the proposal. “We will move forward with the next step. I’m disappointed, but it was not unexpected.”

Coe said her organization has begun a national grass-roots movement to lobby cities to consider similar measures. Word of the proposal brought residents of Anaheim and other Orange County cities to packed chambers Tuesday evening.

Under a phalanx of TV cameras, dozens spoke passionately on the measure. The meeting was peaceful, though some proponents and critics exchanged angry words later.

The issue has stirred emotions in the community, with proponents arguing that undocumented immigrants commit crimes and are a burden on the economy.

“We are tired of declining home values, the overcrowding in our schools, and now we have an electricity shortage,” Anaheim resident Elaine Proko told the City Council. “Common sense tells us it is simple issue of supply and demand. There is too much demand for our limited resources.”

Latino and civil rights leaders, including the American Civil Liberties Union, decried the proposal, saying the law would lead to racial profiling and harassment of minorities.

‘We know firsthand that when such proposals become law, only racial minorities . . . are targeted for harassment,” said Nativo V. Lopez, co-director of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, a group that lobbies for undocumented immigrants. “Shame on you who raise this proposal. No human is illegal.”

Proponents denied racial motivation and fired back.

“We are tired of the defamation, the intimidation,” said Howard Garber of Anaheim Hills. “I am a first-generation immigrant. My ancestors did not come with their hands out. They waited in line. . . . Obedience to the law cannot be selective.”

Under a provision in the 1996 immigration reform legislation, cities may ask the U.S. attorney general’s office for enforcement powers of federal immigration laws. Local police officers would have to be trained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, then they could arrest people suspected of being in this country illegally.

Local police agencies have the authority to turn over to the INS any person arrested whom they suspect of being an undocumented immigrant. But for the most part, police chiefs have been reluctant to mix in immigration issues, fearing that might discourage victims or witnesses from reporting crimes.

The local proposal was introduced by Harald Martin, an Anaheim police officer and member of the Anaheim Union High School board, which in 1999 passed a controversial resolution to bill foreign countries for the education of undocumented immigrant children.

Martin was not at Tuesday’s meeting but said in an earlier interview that he introduced the plan to the council because he felt the city could do more to stem the influx of undocumented immigrants. He took the action as a private citizen, he said.