Protest of Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Laws
CITIZENS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS will convene a press conference on Thursday, February 2, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. in front of the Costa Mesa City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA to announce actions of civil disobedience in opposition to plans to deputize municipal and county police officers as agents of the federal immigration authorities.
The newly formed citizen’s coalition in Orange County is comprised of the largest labor unions in the U.S., civil rights and civic organizations, local businesses, and student associations. It resolved to oppose the plans of the city of Costa Mesa and the Orange County Sheriff’s to permit police authorities to assume functions of the federal immigration authorities for purposes of determining immigration status of individuals and seek their detention and deportation from the U.S.
CCR will call for non-violent civil disobedience by not cooperating with local police officers, an economic boycott of businesses which support the plan of Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, and a mass protest on Saturday, February 18, 2006 in front of South Coast Plaza Mall considered the largest revenue earner for the city of Costa Mesa and the one of the most coveted commercial malls in Orange County.
The group’s major goal is to stop two of the most controversial police anti-immigrant provisions in the country: Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor’s and Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona’s plans to make officers of their respective departments agents of the federal immigration enforcement. They propose to only target immigrant felons, but the effects will inevitably reach law-abiding residents, particularly ethnic minorities.
The CCR supports federal enforcement of immigration laws. However, it strongly opposes any plan that allows immigration questioning/enforcement by Costa Mesa police or deputy sheriffs. The Allan Mansoor and Carona proposals will only damage relations between local residents and police. Immigrants and all ethnic minorities will fear and distrust law enforcement personnel; victims will refrain from reporting crimes, abuses, civil offences, etc; witnesses won’t cooperate with enforcement authorities; and the community will be divided along ethnic lines.
In addition, legal experts, scholars and the local media have already come forward against both proposals. “Mansoor’s idea is more problem than answer,” stated the Daily Pilot. The Spanish newspaper La Opinion not only questioned Mansoor’s plan but also criticized his leadership for allowing a notorious ‘white supremacist’ in his government: “Costa debe liberarse del racista (Costa Mesa must free itself from the racist),” it said. The OC Register pointed out, “Local enforcement won’t get at the heart of illegal- immigration problem.” Also, the ACLU, MALDEF and other legal organizations have repeatedly rebutted the legal basis of the plans.
Speakers will address the following issues: 1) infiltration of ultra-extremist individuals in the government of Costa Mesa; 2) non-cooperation with the police; 3) mass protest on President’s Day weekend, February 18, 2006; and 4) boycotting businesses which support the Carona-Mansoor Plan.
Affiliated organizations:
· Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana
· Mexican American Political Association
· SEIU Local 1877
· AFSCME Local 3299
· UFCW Local 324
· Los Amigos of Orange County
· Federacion de Clubes y Casas Guanajuatenses
· Orange County Community Forum
Email address: citizensforconstitutioalrights@yahoo.com
KJ