Politicians mute on Penn. law

Suggesting just how provocative the issue of illegal immigration will be in this fall’s Costa Mesa election, City Council candidates on Friday largely passed on the opportunity to firmly back a new, strict law that went on the books in one Pennsylvanian town last week.

The city of Hazleton approved the law that fines landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and suspends the licenses of business owners who hire them.

The ordinance, approved Thursday, also declares English the official language of the city of 31,000.

Like in Hazleton, the illegal immigration issue in Costa Mesa has been hotly debated for nearly a year. In Costa Mesa, the discussion increased when the City Council in December approved a plan to have city police trained in illegal immigration enforcement.

On Friday, however, the talk was more reticent than heated.

Mayor Allan Mansoor would not give a direct answer when asked repeatedly Friday whether he would support a similar plan for Costa Mesa.

“What’s happening across the nation certainly shows how concerned people are about illegal immigration,” Mansoor said. “They want elected officials who are going to uphold the law and the oath of office that we take.”

Mansoor, who is up for reelection in a November contest that has two seats up for grabs, said his focus is on illegal immigrant criminals and in order to comment on the Hazleton law he would need to read the exact wording of the ordinance. He did not respond after being e-mailed a link to the Hazleton law.

Councilman Eric Bever, who will not have to run for his seat again until 2008, also declined to comment on the Hazleton law because he needed to read the ordinance. He did not respond to the e-mailed Hazleton link.

Planning commissioner Bruce Garlich, another council candidate, also would not say whether he would support Hazleton’s law in Costa Mesa because he wasn’t familiar with the ordinance.

“It sounds like a political statement,” Garlich said after being read portions of the ordinance. “We should wait for immigration reform legislation and rely on that for any changes for our local policies going forward.”

Garlich said he does not think Costa Mesa is heading in the same direction as Hazleton and has not heard it proposed.

Two candidates would go on the record: parks commissioner Wendy Leece and Westside business owner Mirna Burciaga. Both said they would not support a Hazelton-like plan.

“My focus as a parent who raised five kids is more on public safety,” Leece said

Leece cited as an example a recent nationwide sweep conducted by federal immigration officers that netted 2,100 illegal immigrants, most of whom had committed serious crimes. Three of those were Costa Mesa residents who had been convicted of sex crimes.

“I’m very concerned about that,” she said.

Burciaga said she opposes the Hazleton law.

The question of whether English should be the official language of the U.S., she said, should not even be asked.

“English is the official language of this country, and it should be the only language in the schools,” Burciaga said. “There are different languages spoken in this country because this country is made of immigrants. And in your home, you should be able to speak your language and pass it on to your children.”

Burciaga also said business owners should not be expected to become immigration agents who have to police their own workers.

Securing the borders should be the first priority, she added. Burciaga is also in favor of the creation of a program that allows immigrants to enter the country legally to work. She thinks such a program will decrease illegal immigration.

“As for criminals, arrest all of them regardless of whether they have documents,” she said.

Burciaga said the illegal immigration problem should be approached with empathy.

“We should humanize [the problem] more. We are discussing them [illegal immigrants] as if they were objects. They are human beings,” she said.

She expects lawsuits to be filed against Hazleton and other cities that adopt a similar plan.

QUESTION

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