Lawyer: It’s not up to the city

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor’s call last week to find stricter ways to crack down on illegal immigrants in the city may be too limited in the eyes of the law, one of the nation’s top constitutional lawyers said Friday.

Before enforcing any laws, they would have to be within Costa Mesa’s purview.

“Generally, cities and states can’t enforce federal immigration laws,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean of the UC Irvine School of Law. “Only federal law can do that, and Arizona will test that.”

During a news conference Wednesday, Mansoor highlighted ideas he’d like to explore with the City Council, including making businesses use a free federal service, E-Verify, to check the immigration status of potential employees before hiring them, and requiring the city to verify the legality of people seeking business licenses.

Mansoor also wants the Police Department not to accept the “Matricula Consular,” a form of identification issued by the Mexican government, as a valid form of ID.

But does that mean police can’t accept other foreign nationals’ ID? Does it mean the city could penalize businesses that don’t use E-Verify?

And will it result in a backlash like Arizona is experiencing or what Costa Mesa went through in 2005 when Mansoor wanted the Police Department to enforce immigration laws?

Mansoor said he would like to see tougher policies and enforcement when it comes to illegal immigrants, but not before there’s a council discussion on what can be done.

“These are all things I want to bring forward for discussions, not only for the council, but the public as well,” he said. “And some things will be easier to put forward, some things will take more time. These are complex issues.”

When asked whether he supports the idea of making those who came here illegally pay a fine and start the process of becoming legal, Mansoor wasn’t completely opposed to the idea.

“I fully support legal immigration, but let’s make it orderly,” he said. “What I’m saying is people should come here legally, and anyone who’s here illegally should not go to the head of the line in front of those waiting to come here legally.”

As far as concerns about a backlash, Mansoor said there are those who will always oppose even the discussion.

“There will always be those who try to shut down any discussion. No matter how I put this forward, they are going to shut it down,” he said. “But we have to have an open discussion on these issues, we can’t continue to look the other way.”

Adverse reactions to the mayor’s proposals are eminent, especially when taking into consideration what happened in 2005, said Kevin O’Grady, director of the Orange County/Long Beach region of the Anti-Defamation League.

“Everybody acknowledges that illegal immigration is an incredibly complex issue,” O’Grady said, “but there’s a difference between an open discussion about how it can be handled on the local, state and federal level, and putting stringent regulations in place that could potentially target both legal and illegal immigrants.”

Some cities have succeeded in their attempts to crack down on illegal immigration by making it illegal for landlords to rent to undocumented people, Chemerinsky said.

But others have not.

The lower courts are split on whether cities can enforce such laws, he said. Some cases were upheld, but others were deemed unconstitutional.

“I think how far the city can go is uncertain,” Chemerinsky said. “The general role is it’s not the city’s or the state’s job to enforce federal laws.”