The Seal Beach City Council on Monday, June 14, received and filed a staff report on Councilman Charles Antos’ proposal to declare Seal Beach a “Follow the Law” city on immigration issues.
Antos said council members took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of California and the laws of Seal Beach. Antos said a “Follow the Law” resolution would have no fiscal impact on the city.
Councilman Michael Levitt asked for comments from Chief Jeff Kirkpatrick on the subject.
Kirkpatrick said immigration was a complex issue. He said at this time, on the advice of counsel, Seal Beach officers do not ask about an individual’s immigration status. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is tasked with determining the immigration status of prisoners.
He said trust between law enforcement and an immigrant community—whether legal or illegal—was tenuous at best. Kirkpatrick said immigrants often come from countries where law enforcement is corrupt and inhumane. “They don’t trust us,” Kirkpatrick said. He said that trust was hard to build and easy to lose.
Kirkpatrick said if Seal Beach became a follow the law city, it would be more difficult for officers to enforce the law. He said officers now have 23 percent discretionary time to patrol. Kirkpatrick cited discretionary time as one of the reasons why arrests have gone up in Seal Beach even as crime has gone down.
Kirkpatrick said stopping people to determine their legal status could expose the city to litigation. The city might win the litigation, but it would cost money to defend an officer’s actions.
The chief also said if Seal Beach officers arrested someone for being an illegal immigrant, the city would be financially liable for medical expenses related to that person. The federal government would not reimburse Seal Beach.
He said the Seal Beach Police Department has minimal staff. He said it was the federal government’s job to close the border. “I don’t believe it’s our job in this city to do that,” Kirkpatrick said.
Antos asked Kirkpatrick if he would recommend that the city not pass a Follow the Law resolution at this time.
“I’m not a politician,” Kirkpatrick said. Antos repeated his question. “I don’t have the resources,” Kirkpatrick said. Antos moved to receive and file the report.
In other business:
• The council called for the Nov. 2 election. Three council seats are up this year: District 1, District 3 and District 5. This is Councilman Antos’ last term on the council and he will not be running for office.
• The council approved additional funding for the remodel of the Seal Beach Police headquarters. During construction, additional problems had been found that required additional repairs and more funds to do the work, according to Sean Crumby of the Department of Public Works.
• The council approved an urgency ordinance creating residency restrictions in Seal Beach for registered sex offenders who come to live in Seal Beach. Under Proposition 83, Jessica’s Law, people convicted of certain sex offenses are forbidden to live within 2,000 feet of a school or park where children gather. In addition to state law, the Seal Beach ordinance would prohibit a registered sex offender from living in a residence that is occupied by another registered sex offender.
Sgt. Steve Bowles, public information officer for the SBPD, told the Sun that there was a registered sex offender, convicted of a felony, living in College Park West within “a certain distance” from a park where children play. However, he is not on probation or parole and the police have no legal authority to act against him. Bowles said the law would apply to male or female sex offenders who move into Seal Beach. Long Beach considered residency restrictions for sex offenders in 2008. According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, concerns about property rights caused Long Beach officials to reconsider a tough early version of the residency restrictions. According to an April 2008 Press-Telegram article, it was not clear if the original version applied to sex offenders who owned property in Long Beach. The city eventually adopted a less severe version of the ordinance.
• The council approved a contract for animal control services with Long Beach Animal Care Services.
• The council awarded an $88,650 contract to Griffin Structures Inc. to assess the condition of Seal Beach buildings and facilities.
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