Agencies in Scramble on Amnesty Eve : Some Fear They Won’t Be Prepared for Expected Rush

With the start today of the immigration legalization program, some Southland church and social service agencies, on which the success of amnesty registration hinges, say they are not ready for the thousands of people who are expected to show up.

A sizable minority of the 80 agencies running sign-up centers were scrambling Monday for volunteers, photo-copying machines, file cabinets, index cards and computers in anticipation of handling the flood of applications, according to workers at the centers.

Officials at St. Simon Episcopal Church in San Fernando were in need of all those items but were especially looking for furniture. Church officials were worried that they will be inundated by thousands of applicants after the center opens at noon.

Officials at the International Institute in Boyle Heights, a social service agency, said it has already spent the $20,000 grant it was given to gear up for amnesty. As a result, it cannot offer sign-ups every day, said Lavinia Limon, the institute’s director.

Pressing for Funds

The institute also is pressing for more funds for additional computers to handle the 25,000 applications it expects to receive, but the funds may not be obtained for some time, she said.

In San Diego County, officials of several independent agencies working on the amnesty program acknowledged being short on staff and said that the needed forms had arrived late, delaying some potential applications. Because of staff shortages, officials said, interviews with some potential applicants are being pushed back for several weeks.

Nonetheless, agency representatives expressed confidence that they were ready to go.

“I feel very positive,” said Maria Elena Verdugo, legalization coordinator for Catholic Community Services, the largest independent agency working on the program in San Diego County. But, she added: “We can always use more volunteers, especially bilingual people.”

Assisted by seven full-time staffers and 300 volunteers, Verdugo said that more than 12,000 illegal aliens had already been pre-registered for amnesty in San Diego County.

Ozzie Pecus, program manager for Access, another nonprofit agency recognized by the INS for purposes of assisting amnesty applicants in San Diego County, said his agency was also prepared for the application period.

“I think it’s going to work well,” Pecus said.

Officials at three San Fernando Valley sign-up centers expressed doubts about opening today because they have yet to receive the final amnesty regulations that were released Friday by the INS.

“I hope the mail comes in early Tuesday,” said one official who asked that his name not be used.

There were no estimates late Monday on precisely how many of the 80 or so church and social service agency sign-up sites in the Los Angeles area may be unprepared for today. Of the 20 agencies contacted by The Times, 15 reported that they were having problems. Some activists say more and more agencies were voicing concerns as start-up day approached.

“The INS, despite all its pronouncements, dropped the load of . . . recruitment of applications and the actual (drudge) work on the church and the agencies that are not part of organized government,” said Chicano activist attorney Antonio Rodriguez. “And that spells disaster.”

Father Bill Jansen, pastor of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in South-Central Los Angeles, where one of the Los Angeles Archdiocese’s 11 amnesty processing centers is located, added, “It’s better to put it off.”

The role of these agencies is crucial to the success of the amnesty program because as many as 4 million illegal immigrants in the United States may apply for resident legalization under the landmark immigration law that was signed by President Reagan late last year.

Some officials believe that the Los Angeles area could account for up to one-third of all amnesty applications, and many of those are likely to be processed by the churches and social service agencies.

“There’s a deep, deep distrust of the INS,” said an Eastside lawyer who asked that his name not be used. “The policeman of yesterday is going to be your buddy today, helping you with amnesty? Give me a break.”

Under the new immigration law, of which amnesty is a major provision, illegal immigrants can apply for legal resident status if they can show that they have lived in the United States since before Jan. 1, 1982. They have one year from today to apply.

Those Captured Have 30 Days

But aliens captured by the INS after the law was signed--last Nov. 6--have only 30 days to sign up.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese has been aggressive in the pre-registration process, signing up 287,000 aliens for amnesty, but church officials are hesitant to estimate how many will eventually come to the church processing centers operated by Catholic Charities.

However, some INS officials believe that as many as 600,000 applications may be processed by the archdiocese.

Some activists, such as Limon at International Institute, said there is no need to rush in and sign up the first day.

“They ought to wait and see what shakes out of the trees,” Limon said. “I don’t see any problems serving 25,000 customers. I just don’t want to see them all this week.”

Los Angeles is not the only place in the country where these centers are facing problems.

In Texas, for example, few agencies have agreed to help the tens of thousands of potential applicants who live along the Texas-Mexico border, complained Joe Murray, chairman of the North Texas Immigration Coalition.

Polish-Language Forms

In Chicago, Roman Catholic Church officials were scrambling to ensure that they have enough Polish-language forms. Although Latinos make up 90% of the illegal aliens in Chicago’s metropolitan area, as many as 24,000 illegal aliens from Poland may also sign up for amnesty.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese has taken an aggressive approach to amnesty, setting up 11 processing centers in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Archbishop Roger M. Mahony said the church’s involvement is only natural, given that Latinos make up more than two-thirds of the 3 million Catholics in the archdiocese.

The church has been designated by the INS as a “qualified designated entity”--authorized by federal immigration authorities to file completed amnesty applications and be reimbursed for some of the costs involved.

Some social service agencies, such as the International Institute, will also process applications, but they are not qualified designated entities. There are 27 qualified designated entity sites from Santa Maria in the north to Orange County.

Because of the respect that the church commands among Latinos, the Catholic centers are expected to be the busiest of the amnesty processing sites in the Southland.

The processing procedures at the Catholic centers are similar to those expected to be employed by other social service agencies involved in the amnesty program.

Sign Up for Interviews

Katie Meskell, a Catholic Charities spokeswoman, said a person who comes in this morning for the first time will sign up for an initial interview that will probably take place several weeks from now. The scheduling of the interviews will “correspond directly” to the order in which applicants come in to sign up, she said.

The first interviews will be for those who pre-registered.

At the interviews, an applicant’s eligibility will be carefully studied. Documents--rent receipts, paid utility bills, school records and the like--will be checked. After it is determined that a person’s amnesty application is valid, it will be filed with the INS.

Church officials are uncertain about what to do with applications found to be deficient.

“We’ll try to do the best we can,” one official said.

Once the INS receives the application, Meskell said, Catholic Charities will be sent a receipt, an appointment date for an interview with the INS and an employment authorization allowing the alien to work legally in the United States while the amnesty application is reviewed by federal immigration authorities.

No alien will be required to see INS officials until the date of his or her scheduled interview, church officials emphasized.

The cost of amnesty registration will vary from agency to agency.

Groups like the International Ladies Garment Workers Union are providing the service free to members.

Fees Range Up to $350

Among those charging a fee, the $55 price sought by Catholic Charities is perhaps the cheapest in Southern California. Each person will be charged $10 for the initial interview. If the application is forwarded to the INS, an additional $45 will be sought.

Other fees charged by agencies range upward from $200 to $350.

By comparison, the INS will charge $185 a person, with a limit of $420 for a family.

Related story, Part II, Page 1.