Wilson Risks His Latino Support : Politics: The governor’s stand on illegal immigrants plays to white suburbanites, who vote in higher numbers than do Latinos.

Gov. Pete Wilson is getting abundant political flak from leaders of California’s Latino community for having lent the prestige of his office--and his credentials as a moderate Republican--to controversial proposals to deter illegal immigration. He probably expected it. And he probably doesn’t worry about it too much.

That’s why Wilson went all out last week promoting an open letter he sent to the White House urging President Clinton to do something, and fast, about the illegal immigrants who have California “under siege.” Wilson, normally so low-key as to be somnolent, waxed almost hysterical in that letter, blaming most of his state’s financial troubles on immigrants who he claims are driving up the cost of welfare, education and public health care.

Wilson’s letter also endorsed several proposals put forward by anti-immigrant groups and backed by a few politicians. Among the proposals is one to repeal the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to deny U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants, which should bar illegal immigrants from receiving all but emergency medical care at public hospitals and keep their children out of public schools. Wilson also urged Clinton to hold the pending North American Free Trade Agreement hostage to force the Mexican government to cooperate with the United States in cracking down on the border.

Now, forget for a moment that each of those proposals can be challenged as illegal, counterproductive or simply impractical. And forget that most immigration experts doubt that any of them would have an impact on illegal immigration, which results from economic factors and not any desire for U.S. citizenship by foreigners. Wilson’s stance is supposedly good politics, especially given the fact that he has lately received the lowest popularity rating (15%) of any California governor in the history of public-opinion polling.

The conventional wisdom among political professionals, like those on Wilson’s staff and in the state Republican Party--who are gearing up for his 1994 reelection campaign--is that illegal immigration is a “hot button” issue with Californians who vote (that is, older, white and suburban voters). So if Latinos don’t like anti-immigrant appeals, that’s no real problem because they don’t vote or, when they do, don’t vote in numbers big enough to outpoll the frightened Anglos that Wilson is appealing to.

That’s why Wilson probably won’t be fazed by harsh criticism from Latino activist groups like San Diego’s Committee on Chicano Rights. Herman Baca, head of that group, predicted that Wilson’s anti-immigrant stance “would guarantee the loss of the 40%-45% of the Hispanic vote” the Republican Party has aimed for since former President Ronald Reagan made inroads among Latino voters in the 1980s.

But Baca is not alone in his anger. Ana Barbosa, head of Los Angeles’ Latin Business Assn., has expressed the fear that every Latino-owned business in the state “now faces the backlash of racism fueled by the derogatory statements of . . . elected officials” like Wilson. Strong stuff, considering that LBA members are mostly small-business people who have been as staunchly pro-Republican as any Latino group in California in recent years.

When a Chicano activist like Baca finds common ground with a businesswoman like Barbosa, there is indeed potential political danger in Wilson’s stance.

Of course, immigration restrictionists are fond of quoting public-opinion polls that find many Latinos concerned about illegal immigration, and Wilson is surely counting on some of that quiet sympathy to work on his behalf. I don’t doubt the accuracy of those polls, but I don’t think that anti-immigrant sentiment runs deep among Latinos. It’s one thing for a Latino to tell a pollster that he doesn’t like illegals. It’s a stretch to assume that he would deny citizenship to an illegal immigrant’s child. When you remember how many ties there are between Latinos in this country and relatives in Latin America, such a “modest proposal” can hit pretty close to home.

Wilson and his advisers may yet find that he has maneuvered himself into an untenable position not unlike that of a policeman who tries to resolve a family dispute and winds up with the husband, wife and kids all ganging up on him.

Consider this: A poll taken this month by La Opinion, Los Angeles’ respected Spanish-language daily, found that 81% of 286 Latino respondents disapprove of Wilson’s anti-immigrant stance. The obvious question is, will they vote that way?

Wilson had best hope they don’t--or next election day he could wind up with a political frying pan upside his head.