INS Stages Catalina Raids; 36 Arrested

Immigration agents Friday rounded up 36 suspected illegal aliens on Santa Catalina Island, including some employed by motels, hotels and restaurants, authorities said.

Sheriff’s helicopters ferried 10 Immigration and Naturalization Service agents to the island at 6 a.m., INS spokesman Joe Flores said. The operation was carried out after the INS received reports that the island’s alien population was growing, said Ernest Gustafson, INS director in Los Angeles.

He said his office also had received a number of complaints about the aliens from residents and businessmen on the island. The 36 aliens were brought to the Terminal Island INS station by the U.S. Coast Guard, Flores said.