CARLSBAD -- Some Latino immigrants say recent cooperation between Carlsbad Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents has resulted in the deportation of at least 15 people and is creating an atmosphere of fear in the community.

Immigrants said police officers are frequently calling immigration authorities after stopping them for traffic violations. Some immigrants said they are specially concerned about patrols in the area around Jefferson Elementary School in the heart of the city's Latino neighborhood.

Carlsbad police Chief Tom Zoll could not be reached for comment Thursday. But he told a group made up primarily of Latinos on Wednesday that in some instances officers call immigration authorities for assistance, including to help identify people who don't have proper identification.

Immigrant rights activists say Carlsbad is not alone. Christian Ramirez, a San Diego immigrant rights advocate with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker human rights organization, said his group has received similar complaints from cities around North County.

"In North County, the complaint is ongoing, from every single city's police department, including the (San Diego County) Sheriff's Department," Ramirez said.

One woman who was picking up her son from Jefferson Elementary School on Thursday afternoon said she has been driving without a license for four years. She said she has seen police and immigration officers in the area but can't avoid driving, because she said it's not safe for her children to walk home.

"It's a risk, but I have to drive," said Guadalupe, a 45-year-old Carlsbad woman who spoke to the North County Times on the condition that her last name not be used. "I have to risk driving or I have to risk letting my children walk home from school."

The woman said she was one of about 500 people who attended the meeting Wednesday night at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Carlsbad with Zoll on the subject of immigration.

At the meeting, several people told the chief they were stopped for minor violations, such as a missing front license plate or a broken window, and were detained while immigration officials arrived.

After hearing about some of the complaints, parishioners at St. Patrick's, which is just east of the Barrio Carlsbad neighborhood, formed a group to investigate. Though the investigation is not complete, the panel said it has found 11 cases of people who were stopped by police that resulted in 15 people being deported.

At the meeting, one man alleged that a police officer asked him for a driver's license while at a gas station. The man, who said he gave the officer a Mexican license, alleged that he was handcuffed and detained in the back of a police car for half an hour while immigration officers arrived. He did not say if he was deported.

One woman alleged that she was accused by a police officer of being a burden to the state after she presented a Mexican identification card to identify herself.

Organizers of the meeting said they did not want the gathering publicized because it would hamper their efforts to work with the Police Department. They declined further comment.

Chief Zoll told the audience at Wednesday's meeting that most of the cases involving immigration authorities were related to unlicensed drivers. He said the department cannot allow people to drive without a license, and that the department would investigate complaints about officer misconduct.

However, if a person gives false information or false identification, police will do whatever it takes to determine who they are, he said, including calling the U.S. Border Patrol.

The chief said Mexican identification cards, including the popular matricula consular, would only be accepted by the department as a secondary form of identification.

Ramirez said police departments need a clear policy on how they approach illegal immigrants who drive without a license. He said if police departments call immigration authorities on routine traffic stops, they run the risk of alienating the community.

"If the Carlsbad Police Department wants to create the perception that they are Border Patrol agents, that comes with a toll for the relationship with the community," Ramirez said.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency's officers respond to calls from local law enforcement whenever officers available. She said additional funds recently have made it possible to do more interior immigration enforcement.

- Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.