"No one has the right to come to the U.S. illegally, and no true citizen would mind a police officer asking what his citizenship is," said Jorge, who said he immigrated legally from Cuba. "We need to have our police involved in this problem because we are overrun."
Several speakers urged the council to reconsider its vote, arguing that immigration was the responsibility of the federal government.
"Any reasonable person would say illegal immigration is a problem in this country [and] the present system isn't working," said Paul Kelly of Costa Mesa. "It's inherently an unjust system, but it's a national problem."
David Garcia, a Native American from Arizona, said he worried that those who appeared to be from Mexico, as he does, would be confronted.
"You have to be very careful when you start finger-pointing," he said.
Others accused the council of promoting racism and trying to push Mexican-born residents out of the city.
"We demand a reversal of the [immigration] agreement," said a man identifying himself as Coyotl Tezcalipoca of the Tonantzin Collective, a pro-immigrant group. "We know you guys want to change the demographics of Costa Mesa. We know your plot, and we're going to fight this to the end."
Tezcalipoca -- whom police later identified as Benito Acosta, 25, of Costa Mesa -- was the final speaker before the council ended an hour of debate. He protested being cut off and was forcefully removed by several police officers, triggering a brief scuffle.
Lt. Clay Epperson, a spokesman for the Costa Mesa Police Department, said Acosta was arrested and booked at the Costa Mesa Jail on suspicion of disturbing an assembly, interfering with a council meeting and resisting a police officer.
During the scuffle, one woman broke into the anti-slavery ballad "We Shall Overcome" while opponents quickly drowned her out by singing "America the Beautiful."
"This whole issue of illegal immigrants in Costa Mesa has been building for 20 years, and it's finally getting lanced," said Byron de Arakal of Costa Mesa. "It almost doesn't matter what side of the issue you're on, it has to be lanced."
The crowd of about 125 included members of two citizens groups that marched to the Costa Mesa Police Department on Dec. 23 protesting the immigration vote.
Jim Gilchrist, a retired Aliso Viejo accountant who ran for Congress last month after co-founding the Minuteman Project, a controversial border security group, also attended Tuesday's meeting. He thanked the council for "doing the right thing" by enforcing immigration laws.
But some in the crowd worried that giving police the power to check immigration status would make Latino residents reluctant to report crimes for fear of deportation.
City officials are working on the details of the program. As adopted, police will sign up for training with federal enforcement agents and the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Michael S. Carona has proposed training 200 deputies to use federal databases to uncover illegal immigrants.
City officials estimate they could begin questioning suspects about their immigration status this year. The city would review the plan after a year.
