Informed Opinions on Today’s Topics : Slamming the Door on Illegal Immigrants

In an open letter to President Clinton and in a series of high-profile newspaper ads last week, Gov. Pete Wilson announced a set of sweeping immigration law reforms that would end education and emergency health care benefits for illegal immigrants and would deny citizenship to their children. The plan also calls for the creation of a tamper-proof identification card for legal immigrants. Wilson has argued that his reforms would eliminate what he called federal “incentives” to enter the United States unlawfully. However, a number of studies have challenged the widely held view that immigrants are weakening California’s economy.

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Should the government adopt Gov. Wilson’s immigration reforms?

Carlos J. Moorhead, Republican congressman from Glendale and a member of the House Republican Research Committee’s Task Force on Illegal Immigration:

“I didn’t see anything in the governor’s proposals that wasn’t a good idea. As long as you provide a reason for illegal immigrants to come, you’re going to get them rushing in. The state cannot afford to be the provider of all kinds of medical services to people who come here illegally. I still strongly believe that we have to make an all-out effort to stop them at the border before they come in.”

Richard H. Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.:

“On the question of children born to illegal aliens, the issue is most perplexing. I think that most people wonder why the (illegal immigrant’s) child should be deemed a U.S. citizen. I find it hard to accept. I think there should be a change. Greater Los Angeles should not have to bear the extreme brunt of the problem merely because we’re so close to the Mexican border.”

Howard L. Berman, Democratic congressman from Panorama City, who has pushed for federal reimbursements to help California pay for the health and education costs of new immigrants:

“We must work through the issue of a tamper-proof Social Security identification card to make employer sanctions effective. I am critical of Gov. Wilson for not using his Department of Industrial Relations to investigate the industries which systematically recruit and employ undocumented workers. I do not believe in cutting off public education to people who are in this country. I can’t think of anything more foolish than that.”

Arturo Vargas, vice president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund:

“These measures will not reduce illegal immigration because they do not address its causes. Instead, these proposals add to the misperception that immigrants are the sole cause of California’s economic troubles, and that once the undocumented leave our state, our troubles will disappear.”

Anthony C. Beilenson, Democratic congressman from Woodland Hills who has called for a tamper-proof Social Security card and supports the refusal of citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants:

“While the federal government has sole responsibility for controlling our borders, the burden of illegal immigration--providing education, health services, welfare, housing and jobs for hundreds of thousands of these newcomers and their families each year--falls almost entirely on local governments. If controlling immigration is necessary, and I believe it is, we should get serious about enforcing our immigration laws.”