Wilson Shifts Tack on Illegal Immigration : Reform: Governor endorses bills making it harder for undocumented immigrants to get services. He says the state must do all it can to stem flow.

Extending an aggressive political assault on illegal immigration, Gov. Pete Wilson on Tuesday endorsed a slate of bills that would make it harder for undocumented immigrants to obtain state services.

The bills would require proof of lawful U.S. residency for those seeking a driver’s license or job training and would crack down on fraud in the state Medi-Cal health program for the poor.

Wilson’s announcement at a Van Nuys news conference was the latest in a string of appearances by the governor designed to draw attention to the problems created by illegal immigration.

But this time, outside the Van Nuys office of the Department of Motor Vehicles, Wilson took a new tack, focusing on steps the state can take to help deter illegal immigration, which until now he had insisted was a federal responsibility.

The change appeared to be designed to quell criticism that Wilson, in making immigration a major focus of his Administration, was simply trying to shift the blame for California’s problems to the federal government, which is controlled by Democrats.

“While we must fight for federal reforms, we must also take action where we can on the state level to deter illegal immigration,” Wilson said.

Wilson contends that it costs state taxpayers about $3 billion annually to provide education, health and welfare and services to illegal immigrants and their families and to imprison undocumented immigrants convicted of felonies.

Earlier this year, he sought $1.5 billion from the federal government to help defray the costs. And in a move two weeks ago that attracted national attention, Wilson proposed denying citizenship to children born in the United States to unlawful residents and curtailing most health and education services to those illegal immigrants.

Wilson’s proposals have drawn fire from Democratic Party officials and advocates for immigrants’ rights, some of whom acknowledge that the governor may have found an issue that will help him rise in the polls as he prepares to run for a second term next year.

“This is a transparent attempt to get votes by using a sensitive issue that touches a lot of nerves,” said Charles Wheeler, directing attorney for the National Immigration Law Center. “He’s fanning the flames of fear, frustration and, to some extent, prejudice. It’s unfortunate.”

But Wilson said Tuesday the bills he endorsed included measures written by two Republicans, a Democrat and an independent.

One of the bills, by Democratic state Sen. Alfred E. Alquist of San Jose, would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to verify the citizenship or legal resident status of first-time applicants for drivers licenses and state identification cards. Applicants would have to provide a birth certificate, a U.S. passport or immigration documents.

The DMV, saying the bill would cost the department $1.1 million annually, originally opposed the measure on fiscal grounds. Wilson overturned that position because it contradicted his get-tough stand on illegal immigration.

“Not requiring proof of residency for this tamper-proof identification just doesn’t make sense,” Wilson said.

But Wheeler said the measure would prevent many people, including foreign students who are here legally, from getting a drivers license because they have neither citizenship nor resident status.

Wheeler said the bill would mean added inconvenience to drivers license applicants while doing nothing to slow the flow of immigrants into the state.

“People are not coming to California so they can drive a car,” he said. “They’re coming so they can work.”

Wheeler also criticized another bill backed by Wilson that would require job training agencies to verify the citizenship status of their clients.

He said federal law already prohibits providing these services to those who cannot lawfully work in the United States. The proposed state law, he said, would mean more paperwork for job training agencies but would produce few benefits for the state.

But Wilson said the bill by Republican state Sen. Newton R. Russell of Glendale would reinforce the federal sanctions on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.

The Medi-Cal fraud bill, sponsored by Wilson’s Health Services Department and authored by Republican state Sen. Tim Leslie of Carnelian Bay, is aimed at hospital staffs that recruit patients from other states and countries and encourage them to apply for state assistance to pay their medical bills.

Although Medi-Cal fraud is already prohibited, the legislation would make such recruiting and coaching a separate crime under state law.

Wilson also endorsed a measure by Independent state Sen. Quentin L. Kopp of San Francisco that would strike down local ordinances that prohibit law enforcement officials from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

The so-called sanctuary ordinances are supported by immigrants rights advocates as a way to create goodwill between local police and immigrant communities so the most serious crime problems can be addressed. Critics say the local laws simply encourage illegal immigration.