Police: We aren’t INS agents

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT-MESA -- It’s plain and simple. Local police are not looking to

become immigration officials.

The reaction came quite naturally from Costa Mesa Police Chief Dave

Snowden, as well Newport Beach Police Chief Bob McDonell, following Atty.

Gen. John Ashcroft’s statements Wednesday that he would favor a change in

policy to let local police make arrests based solely on immigration

violation.

Snowden said his department would be happy to assist the federal

government in looking for terrorists or wanted criminals who also happen

to be in the country illegally.

But he does not want his officers to stop someone on the street based

on their race, color, accent or dress, Snowden said.

“That would simply destroy years of credibility we’ve built as a

police department in this community,” he said.

Snowden added that, based on information he received from other police

chiefs in Orange County, Ashcroft’s statements may have been

misinterpreted by the media.

“The attorney general’s office is asking us for input rather than

inform us of a decision they’ve made,” he said. “They’re only asking us,

‘If we went ahead and did this, will it work?”’

Immigration and Naturalization Service officials in Los Angeles

declined to comment on the issue.

McDonell, who is also president of the California Police Chiefs Assn.,

said he will be quick to send out a letter to Ashcroft expressing the

collective opinion of that body.

“We will definitely correspond with [Ashcroft] and communicate to him

that before he takes any action on this issue to consider opening up a

dialogue,” he said.

McDonell said it is also his opinion as the police chief of Newport

Beach that such an additional responsibility will hamper police officers

from doing their real jobs -- protecting their community against crime.

“We have undocumented immigrants in our communities who are also

victims and witnesses [of crime],” he said. “We have been trying to build

relationships with them over the years in an attempt to make them

comfortable talking to us.”

McDonell, like Snowden, said his department would be happy to help the

FBI catch criminals and terrorists.

“If they legally place holds on people and put their names in the

computer, we can turn them over to the FBI,” he said.

Many local police departments are also not equipped to handle an

operation of such magnitude, the chiefs agreed. It would take several

hours of training and pull them away from investigating or acting on

criminal incidents, they said.

“We’re simply not prepared to handle it,” Snowden said. “We also don’t

want to put a burden on the people who live in our community.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .