‘Phase 2’ of Amnesty Entails Controversial Study, Tests for Aliens

The federal government, unveiling the long-awaited next phase of proposed requirements for its amnesty program, said Wednesday that undocumented immigrants seeking permanent legal residence must complete at least 30 hours of instruction in basic English and U.S. civics courses unless they can demonstrate competence in these areas.

The so-called “Phase 2” requirements, which were preliminary but nonetheless set off a new round of controversy in the contentious program, are critical for those who completed the first stage of amnesty by filing for temporary residence status during the one-year application period that expired on May 5. Included are some 1.5 million applicants nationwide, among them some 40,000 in San Diego and Imperial counties.

After living in the United States for 18 months, amnesty applicants have a year to apply for permanent residency--or face a return to their illegal status. The proposed rules clarify how they can clear the next hurdle, defining guidelines that applicants show a knowledge of English and civics.

Many have feared that the requirements may ultimately exclude tens of thousands of applicants who qualified for the initial phase of the amnesty plan.

‘One More Obstacle’

“I think it’s going to result in a lot of people getting discouraged,” said Roberto Martinez, an activist who heads the U.S.-Mexico border program in San Diego for the American Friends Service Committee, social action arm of the Quaker Church. “It’s one more obstacle that people have to overcome in this long process.”

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which created the amnesty program, required that applicants demonstrate a “minimal understanding of ordinary English and a knowledge and understanding of the history and government of the United States” before obtaining permanent legal residence status--source of the much-coveted “green cards.” Absent that knowledge, applicants must show that they are “satisfactorily pursuing a course of study”--a key requirement, as many amnesty seekers will likely be pursuing this alternative route.

In the guidelines released Wednesday, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service defines satisfactory progress as completion of at least 30 hours of English-language and civics instruction. The full courses should total at least 60 hours, the INS said, but half will allow applicants to fulfill the requirement.

Officials stressed that the proposals were preliminary, subject to modification; revised regulations are slated to be published in July and final guidelines likely to be released in September.

Nonetheless, immigrant rights advocates, who pressed for reduced English and civics requirements during debate on the law, immediately attacked the proposals as too demanding, firing the opening salvos in what some are calling “Round 2” of the amnesty battle.

Shortage of Classes

Most of the criticism centered on the shortage of English-language and civics classes nationwide--although San Diego and Southern California, with their huge immigrant communities, seem to be ahead in that area--and on what critics said was a lack of public education efforts about the amnesty program’s requirements.

“A lot of people are not going to have ready access to (English) and citizenship programs,” said Linda Wong, associate counsel in Los Angeles for the regional office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who also noted Southern California’s seeming lead in classes.

In San Diego, officials said, school districts and the Roman Catholic Diocese are already gearing up to provide additional English and civics instruction, anticipating the use of existing classrooms, church facilities and, if needed, renting storefronts and other sites. They hope to offset costs with promised federal aid.

“If we have money to pay for extra space, we expect to meet whatever the needs are,” said Robert Coleman, north regional dean for continuing education for the San Diego Community College District.

But Dale Frederick Swartz, president of the National Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Forum, noted that many private agencies are financially strapped after helping amnesty applicants sign up by May 5. With these groups unable to get out the word and the shortage of basic education classes, “the infrastructure to satisfy (the program’s requirements) is inadequate,” he said.

In an effort to help offset the cost of the amnesty program, the 1986 immigration law provided states with almost $1 billion during fiscal 1988; distribution is to be pro-rated according to the number of applicants in each state. However, Carol de los Reyes, a spokesman at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which administers the aid, said that the funds “weren’t intended to pay all costs” incurred in the legalization effort.

Proposed Regulations

The first applications for permanent residency will not be accepted from amnesty-seekers until Nov. 7, 1988--18 months after officials began accepting applications. The law requires that amnesty applicants wait at least 18 months before applying.

In its proposed regulations, the INS gives amnesty applicants two routes--via oral tests or via classes--to fulfill the English-language and civics requirement needed to obtain permanent legal residence.

The oral examinations are standard tests currently given to immigrants seeking to become naturalized U.S. citizens. Advocates for immigrants have criticized such tests as unduly difficult, but immigration service officials deny this. Those who initially fail the test, the INS said, will be given second opportunities before their applications are denied.

Alternately, amnesty applicants unwilling to take the test, or those who failed it, may submit affidavits stating that they have completed the required 30 hours of study in English and civics. Many amnesty seekers, particularly those from non-English-speaking nations like Mexico, are expected to pursue this avenue.

The INS also said that it plans to monitor the courses and visit class sites. The agency is planning to issue guidelines on textbooks and teacher qualifications, prompting at least one critic to complain that the immigration officials may be unqualified to make such educational judgments.

Moreover, critics have also pointed out what they consider an inherent double-standard: While amnesty applicants seeking to be permanent residents must pass the English-language and civics hurdles, other immigrants are not subject to such a requirement until they seek to become naturalized citizens. Would-be citizens generally must wait five years after obtaining green cards.

‘A Higher Standard’

“The people going through the amnesty program are being held to a higher standard,” said Wong of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who added that amnesty applicants also face stricter requirements in several other areas, notably guidelines excluding poor people likely to rely on public assistance.

The English-language and civics requirements pertain only to the estimated 1.5 million applicants in the so-called general amnesty program, which raises the possibility of legal status for undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States since 1982. Officials have yet to unveil guidelines for some 500,000 agricultural laborers who have applied under a related amnesty plan, although those rules are expected to be considerably more lenient.

Times staff writer Patrick McDonnell reported on this story from San Diego.