Belgian news mag highlights local issues on immigration

A Belgian news magazine program recently featured a spot on Costa Mesa’s immigration issues.

“Terzake,” loosely translated as “To the point,” ran the spot Tuesday.

Johan Depoortere, the Washington, D.C.-based program correspondent who produced the story, said he first heard about Costa Mesa during a CBS news broadcast at the height of local immigration controversies in 2006.

“I wanted to do something about immigration on a local level, in a small city,” he said.

Depoortere said he spoke to day laborers, police and Mirna Burciaga, a former candidate for City Council.

“I did some local spots with residents...many people grew emotional about the issue. A woman started crying when I started talking about illegal immigration.”

The program ran on CANVAS, a Belgian public broadcasting network.

— Chris Caesar