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GUEST: Humberto Caspa, author of “Terror in the Latino Barrio: The Rise of the New Right in Local Government,” and adjunct professor of Political Science at UC Irvine, writer for La Opinion

After undergoing renovations in March, Costa Mesa’s jail re-opened and resumed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement screening of its prisoners. Figures released for April show that the city’s ICE agent detained 37 out of 98 prisoners interviewed as former mayor and now Councilmember Alan Mansoor said, “If there are some people who still oppose this, that just boggles my mind.” Sure to boggle the mind of Mansoor and his supporters is a new book by Costa Mesa resident and UC Irvine adjunct professor of Political Science Humberto Caspa. “Terror in the Latino Barrio: The Rise of the New Right” argues that Mansoor’s tenure as mayor sought to oust Latinos from the city through various anti-immigrant policies. Costa Mesa gained attention as the epicenter of the national immigration debate back in December 2005 following the city council’s decision to back the then Mayor’s plan to train local police in immigration enforcement. Caspa’s new book looks at the rise of the radical right in the city’s municipal politics and how it made the political ascent of Mansoor possible in the first place.

Caspa will be speaking at Libreria Martinez on June 12th at 6:30 pm, 1110 N Main Street, Santa Ana.