Will Defend Prop. 187 in Courts, Lungren Says : Immigration: But the attorney general says he'd lack authority to prosecute officials who fail to report suspects.

By PAUL FELDMAN and CARL INGRAM

Nov. 1, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITERS

SACRAMENTO —

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren promised Monday to strongly defend Proposition 187 against expected lawsuits if voters approve the sweeping anti-illegal immigration measure next week.

But Lungren, the state’s chief law enforcement officer, added that he would have no authority to prosecute educators and others who failed to report suspected illegal immigrants to federal authorities, as required under the initiative.

Lungren’s statements, made at a Sacramento news conference, raised new questions about the enforcement mechanisms for the get-tough measure, which includes no specific provisions for sanctions.

Asked Monday about Lungren’s statements, Ronald Prince, head of the pro-187 campaign committee, expressed surprise and said it had been his understanding that the attorney general’s office would be responsible for enforcing the initiative.

On the other hand, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education said that county prosecutors would still be able to file misdemeanor charges against educators who failed to report suspected illegal immigrants to the attorney general’s office and the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service.

A spokesman for Gov. Pete Wilson, one of the leading proponents of Proposition 187, said the Wilson Administration has no intention of shedding any light on the matter. Press Secretary Sean Walsh said his office plans no comment on how the measure would be implemented or enforced until after the votes are counted next week.

“We’re not going to engage in the debate until after the election,” Walsh said. “We will have to make that assessment after the election.”

Lungren, who again refused to state his own position on the emotion-charged ballot initiative, told reporters Monday that he was legally obligated to defend statutes he considered contained a “defensible interest and a prospect for success,” regardless of his private opinion of them.

“This falls into that category,” the Republican official, who is seeking reelection this fall, said of Proposition 187.

“Any legal attack on the measure will be met by a strong legal defense by my office,” Lungren said. “We have been working to analyze it so we could, in fact, put it into play if it is passed, and also to defend it.”

Noting that many provisions of the measure would be scheduled to take effect the day after the election, Lungren said his office is preparing memos to send to law enforcement and other officials on how to report suspected illegal immigrants.

The measure, which is expected to result in a flurry of lawsuits, would bar illegal immigrants from receiving most government services and calls for local education, health care and law enforcement officials to forward the names of suspected illegal immigrants to the state attorney general’s office and the INS.

However, Lungren, in response to questions from reporters, said, “I have no intention of prosecuting anybody” who fails to report suspected illegal immigrants to his office because “it’s not part of the statute.”

“There is nothing in this (initiative) that suggests there is any criminal action to be taken by my office against someone who sends me inadequate lists,” Lungren said.

Asked if he believes that acts by the Legislature would be necessary to put enforcement teeth into Proposition 187, the attorney general demurred. “I’m not going to assume that there is going to be a broad-scale failure of people to follow the law,” he said.

The attorney general indicated that he would treat names of suspected illegal immigrants filed with his office in the same way he does required statistical reports of local law enforcement agencies. “If they fail to do it, I couldn’t go to court and prosecute somebody for that,” Lungren said.

Lungren’s statement drew a surprised reaction from Prince, co-chair of the pro-187 Save Our State committee. “The attorney general will enforce the law,” said Prince, although he could point to no wording in the initiative that would define such powers.

Asked for further detail about how Proposition 187 would be implemented, Prince said, “I’d suggest asking the governor.”

“We’ll withhold comment until after the election,” Wilson press secretary Walsh said Monday.

Walsh added that implementation questions may prove moot for some time because of anticipated lawsuits by Proposition 187 opponents.

“We expect a lawsuit to be filed immediately that would probably stay the implementation of 187 until the courts resolve the issue,” Walsh said.

Susan Lange, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said that school personnel who defied Proposition 187 by refusing to report suspected illegal immigrants might face civil suits or criminal prosecution at the county level.

A recent legal advisory from the Education Department’s general counsel, Joseph R. Symkowick, says that under the state’s Education Code, school employees who refuse to carry out assigned duties are guilty of misdemeanors and could also face dismissal from their jobs.

“Any willful refusal by school district personnel assigned to carry out Proposition 187 duties after its passage could result in serious personal consequences,” the advisory states.

Opponents of the ballot measure said Monday that the questions concerning enforcement of the measure prove that it is poorly written. “It’s clear whatever comes to take place will be a very chaotic situation,” said Taxpayers Against 187 spokesman Al Lundeen. “No one is clear who is responsible. It doesn’t sound like a very appropriate way to enact laws in this state.”

Meanwhile, a poll released Monday by the Tomas Rivera Center found that two-thirds of Latino voters consider Proposition 187 racist and mean-spirited, compared to 23% of voters overall statewide.

The survey, conducted by Sergio Bendixen & Associates, polled 400 Latino and 400 general likely voters. It found that only 15% of Latinos support Proposition 187, compared to 48% of voters overall.

Additionally, 70% of Latinos polled believe that Gov. Wilson is speaking about the measure in a way that promotes anti-immigrant hatred and 71% believe the debate is creating a climate that will make it easier to discriminate against the overall Latino community.

“One of the most surprising findings is that 25% of all likely Latino voters personally fear discrimination, and they are blaming Wilson for that,” said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Center, a national institute for policy studies in Claremont.

Times staff writer Denise Hamilton contributed to this story.