Bid to Exclude Illegals From Census Hit : Officials Say Move Would Hurt State in Congress, Cut Federal Aid

Public officials throughout California have condemned a U.S. Senate vote Thursday to exclude illegal aliens from the 1990 census, saying the action will shortchange California in Congress and possibly deprive the state of millions of dollars of federal aid for medical emergency services and other programs for poor people.

“I think it’s an outrageous piece of legislation and probably unconstitutional,” Assemblyman Peter Chacon said Friday. Chacon, a San Diego Democrat, is the chairman of the Assembly’s Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee.

At the same time, the Senate’s action has created great confusion and stirred hopes, especially among urban Democrats, that it will be overturned by the House of Representatives.

Major Impact

If it becomes law, the Senate’s action could have a major impact on California and other states where the influx of illegal aliens significantly boosts the population and, thus, can affect the size of congressional delegations and the amount of federal aid that is doled out. With an estimated population of about 28 million people, California is thought to have at least 50% of the nation’s 3 million to 8 million illegal aliens.

Authorities on reapportionment have widely predicted that California would gain five to seven congressional seats as a result of population gains made during the last decade. But if illegal aliens are not counted, the experts say the state would not get one of the anticipated seats.

“It’s hard to tell exactly how many congressional seats California will lose. But we could have gotten six or seven additional seats and this could cost us one or two. It’s possible,” said state Sen. Milton Marks, a San Francisco Democrat who chairs the Senate’s Elections and Reapportionment Committee.

Loss of Funds Feared

Jesse R. Huff, the state’s financial director, said the state could lose as much as $300 million in federal aid that is allocated on the basis of population as determined by census counts.

Los Angeles County officials said the measure could cut off federal funds for emergency medical services for illegal aliens. In the past, about $80 million annually in such services for illegal aliens has been paid out, with about half of that amount paid in Los Angeles County, according to Mark Tajima, a legislative analyst employed by the county’s chief administrative officer.

Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn described the Senate’s vote as an attempt by “callous, self-serving interests in Washington, D.C., to deny representation and financial resources to minorities and underprivileged in our cities.” Hahn’s office said the city could lose at least $20 million in federal aid over the next 10 years--money that goes for child care, housing rehabilitation, drug counseling and services for homeless people.

Immigration Law Overhaul

The measure passed by the Senate was part of a larger overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws that, if it becomes law, would place an annual cap of 630,000 immigrants for each of the next three years and make room for more residents of Western Europe.

The Senate bill is expected to face tough opposition in the House, where states such as California, New York and Illinois with large alien populations have many votes. Moreover, a federal court in Pittsburgh ruled earlier this year that excluding illegal aliens from the census would be unconstitutional.

But even if the Senate’s action were to become law, it is not clear how much impact it would have on federal aid.

“I think the effect is going to be minimal,” said Michael Myers, counsel to the House subcommittee on immigration and refugee affairs. Myers said the measure would prohibit aliens from receiving direct federal benefits, such as Social Security payments. But he maintained that such ineligibility is already written into a number of federal programs. Myers said that most of the assistance that states and cities now receive comes in the form of block grants that do not qualify as direct financial aid and, therefore, would not be affected.

Puzzled by Action

Still, many local officials remain puzzled by the Senate’s action.

Tajima said he was not sure whether programs such as foster care for abused and neglected children or Supplemental Security Income for aged, blind or disabled people would be vulnerable. “They all involve direct payments by the county of federal money,” he said.

In Orange County, with the second-largest illegal alien population in the state, officials warned that any effort by the Census Bureau to identify illegals would promote “fear and intimidation” among recent immigrants, both legal and illegal. Any such effort, officials said, would discourage people from participating in the census and even further reduce official population figures.

“They counted them in 1980, and now for them to say they won’t count them in 1990 is ludicrous,” said Angelo Doti, director of financial assistance for the Orange County Social Services Agency.

“The fact is they are here. They’re going to stay here. They pay taxes and are going to avail themselves of our services. We need to know the numbers. To not count them is to close our eyes,” Doti said.

Times staff writers Jerry Gillam and Marcida Dodson contributed to this article.