THE TIMES POLL : O.C. Residents Call Migrants a Burden : Immigration: 80% of those surveyed see illegal residents as problem. There is no unity on a solution.

Most Orange County residents believe illegal immigration is a major problem that burdens the economy and contributes to crime, but a recent Times Poll found they are largely divided about what to do.

Despite the widespread concern, for example, a plurality of those surveyed reject Gov. Pete Wilson’s recent recommendation that the children of illegal immigrants should be barred from public schools. While 43% backed the idea, nearly half thought schools should remain open to everyone.

“It’s really hard when it comes to children,” said Shirley Jenkins, a respondent from Anaheim who supports a halt to most benefits for illegal immigrants. “I’m torn about it.”

The poll also found a clear distinction between attitudes about illegal and legal immigration. Nearly two-thirds of the county said legal immigration is not a problem, and more people consider it a benefit to American culture than a detriment.

In fact, Orange County was more positive about the effects of legal immigration than the rest of the nation. A Gallup Poll asking the same question last month found just a third of Americans think immigration improves the culture while 55% said it is a threat.

With recent immigration reforms proposed by President Clinton, the governor and other political leaders, the issue has moved to the nation’s front burner and it looms as an explosive topic for debate in the 1994 elections.

But there were indications in the poll that politicians could be overstating the issue and it appeared the search for popular remedies could be difficult.

While most of the county’s residents are concerned about illegal immigration, it is low on the list of problems worrying local communities. Asked to name the area’s most important problems, illegal immigration, at 5%, was far behind crime. Other issues mentioned more often were gangs, unemployment and growth.

Nonetheless, the results of The Times poll in Orange County indicate that the issue has some resonance in California’s Republican stronghold since 80% of the respondents--including a wide majority of Latinos and Asians--said they consider illegal immigration to be a problem.

The poll’s snapshot also depicts an issue that does not sharply pit conservatives against liberals or Anglos against minorities. On the contrary, concern about immigration spanned all segments of the county’s population, and the differences between ethnic or partisan groups were a matter of degree.

The issue appears to be a wrenching one for Orange County since some of the proposed solutions seemed to split the respondents between their concern about preserving the area’s quality of life and a reluctance to roll back the nation’s historic embrace of immigrants chasing the American Dream.

For example, 49% of those surveyed believe the ranks of newcomers have swelled so rapidly that there should be a three-year ban on legal immigration. But almost as many--44%--oppose the idea.

In Orange County, the issue of a moratorium on immigration has been hotly debated since the county grand jury recommended in June that immigration be stopped for three years due to the burgeoning problems. Latino groups condemned the grand jury’s report and last week the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said it will consider a review of racial discrimination in the county based on a complaint that was prompted by the grand jury report.

According to The Times Poll, however, while the immigration ban is divisive, Orange County Latinos and whites are in generally in agreement on the issue. Anglos supported the ban 50% to 44% while Latinos backed it 48% to 43%. Asians contrasted with other ethnic groups in Orange County with 54% opposed to the idea.

Wanda James, a poll respondent from La Palma, echoed several of those interviewed for the poll when she said the nation’s border is out of control. But instead of banning immigration, James said, she would rather see more order brought to the process.

“I don’t agree with the radicals who say ‘Don’t let anybody in,’ ” she said. “I believe I am my brother’s keeper, but I don’t think we’re giving them the help they need. I think we need to screen them better.”

On the other side, Bob Hastings, 69, of Westminster supported a ban on immigration because he believes times have changed and the country can no longer live by its traditional rules.

“This country was founded by and took in immigrants, but we don’t need people here anymore,” said Hastings, a former landscaping nursery worker. “We can’t even take care of our own and we’re letting more people in. They should be taking care of themselves and not draining our pocketbooks.”

There is less support in Orange County to halt immigration than there is in Southern California, according to a separate Times Poll of 1,232 people in the six-county region that asked the same question. In Southern California, 55% of the poll respondents supported the ban while 38% opposed it.

The Times Poll of Orange County was concluded last Sunday. It was directed by John Brennan and it contacted 943 Orange County adults over a four-day period. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.

When Gov. Wilson was in Orange County last week to announce a package of immigration reform proposals, he told The Times he would support a temporary ban on legal immigration but he was uncertain whether the three-year period was appropriate.

About his other reform proposals, Wilson said he believed public benefits are a lure to immigrants and his intent was to discourage illegal immigration by denying them access to health care, education and welfare programs. He said illegal immigrants are costing California taxpayers $3 billion a year.

Wilson said 13% of the state’s prison inmates are illegal immigrants. The poll found that 52% of respondents believe illegal immigrants are responsible for a “great deal” or “good” amount of crime.

Wilson also said that since 1988 there has been a four-fold increase in the number of undocumented mothers receiving welfare to care for babies they bore in the United States. As a result, the governor called for a constitutional amendment to strip citizenship rights from babies born in the United States to non-citizen parents.

A slim majority of respondents to the Orange County poll--52%--supported the idea. But a large portion--42%--said they opposed such a constitutional amendment.

Politically, though, the proposal may help Wilson with voters in his own party. Orange County Republicans backed the idea by a margin of nearly 2 to 1.

The partisan difference on the issue of a constitutional amendment, however, was not typical of The Times survey. The poll actually found substantial agreement on illegal immigration among political, ethnic, gender and income categories.

As a result, like Wilson, the state’s elected Democrats have also focused recently on the issue. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has recommended a toll at the border to help pay for more security personnel. Sen. Barbara Boxer has suggested that the National Guard assist in protecting the border. And state Treasurer Kathleen Brown, who is expected to challenge Wilson for governor next year, says all undocumented prisoners in the state corrections system should be deported.

In The Times Poll, the level of concern about illegal immigration and its impact on crime and the economy was similar for both Democrats and Republicans. On particular reform proposals, Republicans were slightly more likely to restrict access to public schools while Democrats were more supportive of a moratorium on immigration.

Orange County’s ethnic communities have grown rapidly in the last decade with Latinos now representing nearly a quarter of the population while Asian residents account for 10%. Among both ethnic groups, about three-quarters of the poll respondents said they consider illegal immigration a problem. Among whites, 83% consider it a problem.

Nearly half of the Latinos questioned said illegal immigration is a “major problem” while an additional 29% saw it as a “moderate problem.” Half of the Latino respondents also said Latino immigrants are a burden on the economy and a similar portion supported a three-year ban on legal immigration.

Analyzing the Latino response, pollster Brennan said the survey results indicate that those with longer residence in Orange County are more likely to call illegal immigration a problem.

That is the case for Alfonso Via, a second-generation Mexican-American from San Clemente who believes the immigration problem is out of control. He supports a halt to health benefits and public education for non-citizens.

“We should take care of ourselves before we take care of others,” said Via, a 24-year-old Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. “They create problems for jobs. . . . If they can go to school and get health care we’re allowing them to be here. . . . They talk about building a wall (on the border); if that happens, I think it’s a start.”

Josie Montoya, a 59-year-old mother of four who works on a production line in Santa Ana, said she is the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and while she understands the plight of most undocumented workers, she is concerned that it erodes her meager paycheck.

Montoya said the cost of her health care plan recently increased from $5 per week to $12.50, part of which she attributes to the burden on hospitals of uninsured foreigners.

“I consider myself lower income and that $12.50 is a lot,” she said. “Something has to be done. I don’t think it should hurt the children, and maybe the mother of the children. But now, it’s not being done right.”

The poll also found a distinctly different perceptions of Orange County’s rapidly growing Asian community and the Latino population.

Sixty percent of the county thinks Latino immigrants are a burden on the economy.

Just a third of the county considered Asian immigrants to be a burden on the economy and nearly a quarter said Asians provide a financial boost to Orange County. But when asked specifically about the Vietnamese community, the perception was slightly different.

Forty-two percent of the poll respondents said Vietnamese immigrants are an economic burden and just 14% consider them a boost.

Coming to America

A new Los Angeles Times Poll shows most Orange County residents believe illegal immigration is a major problem. But they are closely divided over a proposal to impose a temporary ban on legal immigrants. Gov. Wilson has said he would support such a cutoff, but is undecided about whether three years was an appropriate period.

Halting Immigration

* Some people have proposed that all legal foreign immigration to the United States be stopped for a period of three years. Do you favor or oppose that proposal?

Orange Southern County California Favor 49% 55% Oppose 44% 38% Don’t know 7% 7%

* How big a problem is the amount of illegal immigration into Orange County?

Whites Latinos Asians Major problem 61% 45% 43% Moderate problem 22% 29% 29% Minor problem 9% 9% 20% No problem 4% 13% 2% Don’t know 4% 4% 6%

Source: Los Angeles Times Polls

Immigration: Low Profile Problem

Although most Orange County residents consider illegal immigration a problem, it ranks relatively low on a list of community difficulties. They lean to the view that legal immigration is no more than a minor problem, and take a more positive view of the effect diversity is having on American culture than do Americans nationwide.

What’s the most important problem facing your community today? Crime: 28% Gangs: 24% Unemployment: 11% Too much growth: 10% Drugs: 7% Traffic: 7% Sub-par schools: 6% Graffiti: 6% Economy/recession: 5% Illegal immigration: 5% All others: 31% No problems: 7% Don’t know: 4% Note: Adds to more than 100% due to multiple responses.

How big a problem is the amount of legal immigration into Orange County? Major problem: 11% Moderate problem: 22% Minor problem: 23% No problem: 36% Don’t know: 8% +

Does the increasing diversity that immigrants bring to this country mostly improve American culture or mostly threaten American culture? Orange County Improve: 48% Threaten: 34% Neutral: 8% Depends: 4% Not sure: 6% United States* Improve: 35% Threaten: 55% Both: 3% Neither: 3% No opinion: 4% * Gallup Poll, July

Boost or Burden

Whether individual immigrant groups are viewed as an asset rather than a drag on the local economy is to a certain extent a factor of ethnicity.

Generally speaking, do you think new immigrants coming to Orange County from Asia are an overall boost for the economy, or are they a burden on the economy, or neither? Boost: 23% Burden: 35% Neither: 33% Don’t know: 9%

Whites Latinos Asians Boost 22% 23% 38% Burden 37% 36% 14% Neither 33% 28% 39% Don’t know 8% 13% 9%

+

Do you think new immigrants coming to Orange County from Vietnam are an overall boost for the economy, a burden on the economy, or neither? Boost: 14% Burden: 42% Neither: 31% Don’t know: 13%

Whites Latinos Asians Boost 12% 16% 26% Burden 44% 41% 31% Neither 33% 23% 31% Don’t know 11% 20% 12%

Do you think new Latino immigrants coming to Orange County are an overall boost for the economy, or are they a burden on the economy, or neither? Boost: 9% Burden: 60% Neither: 22% Don’t know: 9%

Whites Latinos Asians Boost 6% 18% 11% Burden 66% 47% 50% Neither 22% 22% 25% Don’t know 6% 13% 14%

Crime Is Concern

County residents agree there should be less emphasis on penalizing illegal immigrants and more on protecting them from unscrupulous employers. They heavily support the idea that immigrants get unwanted jobs. But they are closely divided over whether illegals should be able to attend schools here, and they see them as responsible for at least a good amount of local crime and street violence.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement: There should be less concern with penalizing illegal immigrants and more concern with protecting them from mistreatment by American employers. Agree: 50% Disagree: 38% Don’t know: 12%

Do you think immigrants from other countries mostly take jobs that nobody wants or do they mostly take jobs away from Americans who need them? Unwanted: 61% Take away: 21% Don’t know: 18%

Hiring Illegal Immigrants

Do you personally know anyone in your community who knowingly hires illegal immigrants as workers? Yes: 28% No: 69% Don’t know: 3%

Do you favor or oppose prohibiting illegal immigrants from attending American public schools? Favor: 43% Oppose: 48% Don’t know: 9%

Whites Latinos Asians Favor 44% 39% 47% Oppose 48% 52% 41% Don’t know 8% 9% 12%

How much of the crime and street violence in Orange County do you think is caused by illegal immigrants? Great deal: 18% Good amount: 34% Not too much: 25% Hardly any: 11% Don’t know: 12%

Automatic Citizenship

The U.S. Constitution states that any child born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen, even if the parents are illegal immigrants. Do you favor or oppose amending the Constitution to change the existing law so that a child born to an illegal immigrant in the United States would not automatically become an American citizen? Favor: 52% Oppose: 42% Don’t know: 6%

Whites Latinos Asians Favor 58% 31% 56% Oppose 37% 59% 39% Don’t know 5% 10% 5%

Sources: Los Angeles Times Polls; the Gallup Poll

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 943 adult residents of Orange County Aug. 12-15. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the county. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that both listed and unlisted numbers had an opportunity to be contacted. Results were weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and labor force participation. Asians and Latinos were over-sampled to ensure large enough samples for analysis; these groups are weighted to their proper proportions in the overall, countywide results. While the opinions of black residents were included as part of the total countywide results for the poll, the black sample in Orange County was too small to include as a separate analysis. The margin of sampling error for percentages based on the entire sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points; for sub-groups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Interviewing was conducted in English and Spanish; only those conversant in those languages were interviewed.