Immigration Bills Decried in Protest at Beilenson Office : Woodland Hills: Latino college students say the legislation embodies racism and invites harassment.

More than two dozen Latino college students on Friday staged a noontime rally in front of the Woodland Hills office of Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson to protest legislation he and others have proposed to restrict the rights of illegal immigrants and their children.

Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) last month introduced a series of such bills, including one that would amend the Constitution to deny citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States.

“These bills are part of a growing movement of racism,” said Juan Luis Vela, president of the Cal State Northridge chapter of MEChA, a Chicano student group. “It’s ethnic cleansing, a way of getting rid of undesirable races.”

Vela and others said the passage of laws creating more restrictions on illegal immigrants would prompt authorities to question and harass anyone who looks Latino.

Beilenson, who last month called illegal immigration “one of the fastest-growing and most serious problems facing our nation,” was not available to meet with the group.

He later denied allegations that his proposals, which also call for beefing up Border Patrol forces, are racist.

“How does one respond to a charge like that?” Beilenson said in a telephone interview. “For 15 years, I have supported bills to support immigration laws.”

The students, who attend CSUN and Pierce College, also criticized several other proposed laws being debated in the California Legislature. One would deny public education to youngsters who are illegal immigrants and another would charge them much higher fees than legal residents to enroll in state colleges and universities.

Another bill proposes elimination of state funds for emergency and prenatal medical care for residents who cannot prove they are living in the United States legally.

“If these bills get passed, it’s going to turn this place into a police state,” said Teresa Bautista, a CSUN senior majoring in history. “If you just look Mexican, you’re going to have to show papers proving that you’re legal.”

Others have criticized Beilenson, a longtime liberal who, because of reapportionment, was forced to run in a conservative district, where he won in November.

During the campaign, Beilenson declared his support for conservative Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who originally presented the idea of denying automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants.

Beilenson denied during the race that he had taken up the illegal-immigration issue to attract voters in the conservative 24th District, which extends from Sherman Oaks to Malibu and north to Thousand Oaks.

But the protesters said Friday that, regardless of what prompted the issue, passage of such legislation would be destructive to Latinos and other minorities.

“These bills are just an excuse to blame immigrants for the unemployment crisis in California and the economic crisis in the U.S.,” said Juana Mora, a CSUN Chicano studies professor.