Council Backs Plan for INS Agent at Jail
LAGUNA BEACH — With the city of Anaheim seeking support for a pilot program that would place an Immigration and Naturalization Service officer in that city’s jail, the Laguna Beach City Council voted unanimously last week to endorse the plan.
Anaheim Councilman Bob Zemel wrote to Laguna Beach Councilman Steve Dicterow recently seeking support for the program, the aim of which is to identify suspects who are illegal immigrants.
Zemel said the system could serve as a “blueprint†for other cities trying to decrease crime committed by illegal immigrants.
Zemel wrote that Anaheim’s program was proposed after the shooting of a city police officer by a criminal who had twice been deported. A subsequent “informal 60-day survey revealed that 37% of those arrested are illegal aliens, many with multiple offenses and prior convictions,†the letter noted.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
