Prop. 187 Without Prop. 187

Gov. Pete Wilson, claiming authority under the new and complicated federal welfare reform law, is once again trying to deny public benefits to illegal immigrants. If the executive order he issued Tuesday--based on the new law--survives the kind of legal challenges that have derailed implementation of Proposition 187, Wilson will have finally accomplished his goal. But at great expense to California.

The debate over illegal immigration cannot be divorced from politics. Wilson’s 1994 gubernatorial campaign was closely linked to the highly divisive Proposition 187, which barred educational and other public benefits to illegal immigrants and which The Times opposes. The lingering tensions of that campaign will discourage a reasoned public response to the governor’s new approach.

No one denies that illegal immigration is a daunting problem in this state. The sheer volume is frustrating to those who legally live here and need services. The remedy, however, is not Wilson’s denial of the few benefits, such as prenatal care, for which poor illegal immigrants qualify. Tighter federal control of the nation’s borders and a tougher crackdown on those who employ illegal workers is the line on which to fight this problem. Denying humanitarian services to the needy is not.

But the governor is looking for budget savings, and a major target is the illegal immigrant population. They receive only short-term disaster relief, emergency medical treatment, basic health care, nutrition for children under 5 and some free school lunches.

The governor’s office says several million dollars can be saved by cutting benefits. He has ordered an audit to determine the numbers of illegal immigrants using services and which services they use. He is right to get his figures in line before taking further action. Wilson needs to know what’s on both sides of the balance sheet before pressing on. For instance, public health outlays pay off for all by controlling the costly spread of diseases like tuberculosis.

Wilson would deny illegal immigrants occupational licenses like those required of beauticians and landscapers. His goal, which we share, is to keep people who are here illegally from working. The problem has always been how to verify immigration status. Wilson wants a tamper-proof national identification card that would reduce the traffic in counterfeit documents used as proof of eligibility for benefits.

The new welfare reform law directs the U.S. attorney general to come up with a system of verification for federal benefits not later than 18 months after the welfare reform bill became law, which means before January 1998. States then would have an additional 24 months to devise regulations to verify eligibility for benefits. What’s Gov. Wilson’s rush?