COSTA MESA, Calif. — Mayor Allan Mansoor says his city has a problem with violent criminals who are in this country illegally, and he wants them sent home.
Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor inside his City Hall office.
Bob Riha, Jr., USA TODAY
His solution is to make Costa Mesa the first city in the country to authorize its police officers to begin enforcing federal immigration laws by checking the immigration status of people suspected of serious crimes and gang activity. (Related: States weigh immigration controls)
It may sound like a simple move — a background check that many assume is already being done. But with federal immigration officers overwhelmed by the flow of undocumented immigrants, it often isn't, Mansoor and law enforcement officials say.
As a result, many illegal immigrants who are convicted of crimes are set free rather than booted from the country when they have served their sentences. In the Los Angeles area alone, thousands of illegal immigrants are estimated to be behind bars.
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