Immigration plan uncertain

Costa Mesa’s proposal to check the immigration status of criminal suspects has heightened the anxiety of some in the city. But so many factors are undetermined, it’s unclear when, or if, the city will actually put a plan in place.

The council voted in December to train some police to check the immigration status of people arrested for felonies, but a final plan has not yet been created or approved by the council.

One determining factor in whether the plan goes ahead could be who wears the sheriff’s badge after Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona’s term expires in early 2007. The measure that the Costa Mesa City Council approved specifically mentions cooperation with the sheriff’s department, and Costa Mesa Police Chief John Hensley has said he won’t begin creating a plan until he sees whatever agreement the county forges with federal officials.

“Our direction is to follow very closely what the sheriff requested,” Hensley said in a recent interview. “As soon as I see that, then we’ll draft our own to make sure it mirrors that.”

Carona has been working for nearly two years on an immigration enforcement plan and is still working out an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

One certainty ahead is that Carona faces three challengers in the June 6 election. While conventional wisdom and fundraising favor the incumbent Carona, it’s theoretically possible one of the other three candidates ? retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Alcaraz, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Hunt, and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Ralph Martin ? could win.

A new sheriff might not change much regarding the immigration plan. Martin said he’s “on the same page” with Carona in going after criminals who could be immigration violators.

Hunt said rather than proceeding with just the sheriff’s department as Carona has done, he would try to get more cities to cooperate with some kind of local immigration enforcement plan ? and so far, Costa Mesa is the only city that has taken a step toward participating. Efforts to reach Alcaraz for comment were unsuccessful.

Supposing the sheriff supports having deputies enforce immigration laws, the county still needs to create an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That’s what’s been taking Carona so long ? though his spokesman, Jon Fleischman, said the agreement could come through any day now.

It’s unclear whether getting an immigration agreement signed by federal officials will be slowed by the vociferous congressional debate over immigration, which is expected to take some time.

Even assuming the direction from the sheriff’s office stays the same and congressional deliberations on immigration policy don’t interfere, the biggest outstanding question remains to be answered ? by Costa Mesa voters.

Mayor Allan Mansoor, who proposed that his city become the first in the nation to take on immigration enforcement, is up for reelection, if he chooses to run. He has consistently said he is “seriously considering” seeking a second term but refuses to say more than that.

He said this week that the city should go forward with an immigration plan even if the county doesn’t. But that would require a new vote by the council, and after the Nov. 7 election city voters could be looking at a new council.

Councilman Gary Monahan, who proposed that the city piggy-back on the sheriff’s plan, is termed out this year. The competition for his seat, and Mansoor’s, is likely to be fierce.

“I think that there are going to be some stiff challenges to the incumbent,” Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce President Ed Fawcett said. “This is going to be an issue that I think people have to do some soul searching on and it will be a major point of the election, I believe.”

Councilman Eric Bever, the third in the 3-2 vote to pursue the immigration plan, will remain on the council, as will the two dissenting members, Councilwomen Linda Dixon and Katrina Foley. If Monahan or Mansoor is replaced by someone who agrees with Dixon and Foley, the council could reverse its direction on immigration enforcement.