Pasadena Star-News

Border issues draw a crowd
Disappointment with enforcement shown
By Brenda Gazzar
Staff Writer

Friday, August 13, 2004 - Enforcement of the nation's immigration laws has not been halted, stopped or intimidated and has even been stepped up, a Homeland Security official told an emotionally charged gathering of about 1,000 on Friday.

At the town hall meeting, organized by Rep. Darrell Issa, R- Vista, many attendees passionately interjected their disapproval while officials spoke, saying they were not satisfied with the answers they got and wanted their government to do more to remove undocumented immigrants.

Immigration and border patrol issues have resurfaced in the state as a hot-button issue since a new 12-member unit from the Temecula Border Patrol station arrested about 420 illegal immigrants in June, including 79 from Ontario.

"Sometimes I'm asked a question: 'Are you going to start the sweeps again?'' said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security. "If you are referring to sweeps as indiscriminately rounding up people, the answer is no. If you're talking about law enforcement operations that go out there and remove illegal aliens in this country, we are going to continue to do that.'

The June arrests in the state's interior drew criticism from some Latino groups who feared they used racial profiling and created unnecessary fear in the community. Supporters argue that Border Patrol is simply doing its job to enforce the laws, no matter how far from the border.

But Border Patrol union representatives say Hutchinson and Homeland Security are preventing them from doing their job. They haven't been able to conduct the kinds of sweeps done in Ontario and Corona, though they are doing other types of enforcement, T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said Friday.

"We suspect it's because they caved in to the political will from the demonstrations of thousands of people who, by the way, most of them are here illegally in this country,' Bonner said. "Uniformed patrols are an effective interior enforcement. People who have broken the law have no right to be secure in our country.'

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the agency charged with interior immigration enforcement, while Border Patrol focuses on arresting people along the border, at transportation hubs and in areas with a connection to the border, Hutchinson said.

Border Patrol will still support the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the interior, he said. It will also have lead enforcement in areas surrounding the checkpoints within 100 miles of the border, he said.

As evidence that operations in general have continued since the arrests in Ontario, Hutchinson pointed to a joint effort between three government agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, which netted 389 arrests of illegal immigrants at LAX starting in July.

That effort, dubbed the Los Angeles Area Initiative, was intended to curb human smugglers there. There have also been recent changes that allow illegal immigrants who are within 100 miles of the border and who have entered the country less than two weeks before, to be deported without first seeing an immigration judge, he said.

Many attendees spoke about their concerns about the drain that illegal immigrants were having on the nation's health care system, school system and economy.

Some waved American flags. Others held signs or bore T-shirts with slogans like "Illegal Aliens are Criminals' or "High 5 For Border Patrol.'

The room burst into an applause and standing ovation for talk show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Champeau from KFI, who have actively supported sweeps of undocumented immigrants like those in June.

Jerry Mock, 59, of Corona attended the meeting to impress upon government representatives that he has had enough.

"We should start enforcing our immigration laws and close the borders,' he said. Janice Gammill, a retired waitress from Costa Mesa, said she was there for her children and her grandchildren.

"We're under an invasion and our government is not protecting us,' she said.

Brenda Gazzar can be reached by e-mail at brenda.gazzar@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9355.