NEWS ANALYSIS : Quake Brings Immigration Issue to National Forefront

The seismic aftershocks of the Northridge quake may be subsiding, but intense political temblors are radiating from California to Washington over providing rent and other long-term disaster assistance to illegal immigrants.

The vast urban destruction of the Jan. 17 quake--and the images of many poor, Latino victims marooned in shelters and waiting in lines for government aid--has given a new face and force to the debate over U.S. taxpayers’ obligation to provide public funds to those living here illegally.

“I think this crisis will crystallize the issue for two reasons,” said Rep. Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles). “This catastrophe was played out on a national stage, not just a California stage. Everybody saw the damage and takes an interest in that.

“And we have the (state elected leaders) legitimately coming back and asking for full funding for benefits (for illegal immigrants) they must provide by law. Those two things make a lawmaker from Nebraska start tuning in.”

Indeed, one of this disaster’s lasting legacies may be that it lifted California’s bitter internal political conflicts over treatment of undocumented residents to the national dais.

In the months before the quake, Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, citing state budget problems, urged a cutoff of health and education benefits for California’s illegal immigrants, estimated by the Census Bureau to total about 1.3 million statewide. The state’s two Democratic U.S. Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, also issued calls to greatly increase border security to curb illegal immigration. Latino lawmakers and civil rights advocates have condemned the proposals as immigrant bashing.

Against that backdrop, and with the intense national media coverage of the quake and the costly recovery efforts, President Clinton’s record $8.6-billion earthquake aid package offered an opportune vehicle for those seeking to limit assistance to undocumented residents.

Under pressure from California Republicans, but with the support of Democrats such as Dixon who are feeling constituent pressure on both sides of the issue, the earthquake aid package was amended in the powerful Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to deny non-emergency relief benefits to those known to be illegal immigrants.

The provision does not require disaster relief workers to ask which applicants are living here legally. And, in a compromise worked out by Democrats, the bill specifically permits emergency food, shelter and medical treatment to be offered to everyone.

Many, like Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, say the victory is more symbolic than real. Practical problems in enforcing the restriction are significant and many forms of aid, such as quake-related Small Business Administration loans, are not available to illegal immigrants anyway, she said.

Also, the number of illegal immigrants lining up for quake aid is unknown. Immigration rights specialists say many Latinos seeking assistance are legal immigrants.

Still, if the provision is approved--and some lawmakers say efforts to further restrict quake aid for undocumented residents are still possible in Congress--it will be a major departure from past disaster relief packages, which were not tied to applicants’ legal status.

Critics say leaders of the effort to curtail access to government programs took political advantage of a climate ripe for immigrant bashing.

“The bad economy is feeding it and the horrendous crime that exists in our communities,” said Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park), who criticizes the aid restriction for being immoral and fostering a “condition for discrimination” against all Latinos. “It only manifests a sentiment that already was there and already growing.”

But supporters of the restriction, including some Democrats, said the quake bill provided a breakthrough in the debate over illegal immigrants.

“This is the first shot over the bow,” said Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside), who authored the provision restricting the quake aid. “It establishes the principle (that) taxpayer money should not go to make illegal aliens whole on the same basis we make United States citizens whole.”

Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), an advocate of other measures to limit illegal immigration, said he argued to his party’s leadership that they should seize the initiative on limiting quake aid to illegal immigrants.

“I don’t think the taxpayers of this country should be asked to pay for two months or more rent, or to replace the cost of furniture and clothing that may have been lost by people who have knowingly broken our laws,” said the congressman, who said he has fielded many such complaints from constituents in his quake-damaged San Fernando Valley district.

Liberal Democrats like Dixon and Rep. Esteban E. Torres (D-La Puente) worked together to broker a compromise.

“I’m hoping we will dodge this issue (for now),” Dixon said. “We need money and don’t want to hold it up on a major national policy debate.” But even Dixon says “there is a legitimate debate when you talk about long-term kinds of federal support” for quake victims who are illegal immigrants.

The fact that Democrats are being forced to endorse restrictions on quake aid shows the issue is gaining momentum, some analysts say. “It is a clear clue . . . this issue has lots of resonance. It’s not just an ideological issue,” said William Schneider, of the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute.

“It will be harder to explain to your constituents why you supported aid to illegal immigrants than why you opposed it. And (elected officials) always do what’s easier to explain,” he said.

Even though critics contend the quake aid restriction would have little if any practical effect on the current relief efforts, they are concerned about where such legislative efforts may lead next.

“It’s extremely dangerous,” said David Hayes-Bautista, a professor at the UCLA School of Medicine who studies public policy issues affecting Latinos. “It is setting up a wedge (and) racializing policy in a very nasty way.”