Welfare Reform Bolsters Prop. 187, Governor Says

Using new welfare legislation as fresh ammunition, Gov. Pete Wilson said Tuesday that he will ask a federal judge to reconsider previous rulings and approve major portions of California’s Proposition 187 nearly two years after it was passed by voters.

In Washington to lobby Congress on immigration relief for California, Wilson argued that the welfare bill signed last month by President Clinton requires states to report illegal immigrants to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and deny them benefits--the same objectives set forth in the 1994 California ballot initiative currently stalled in court.

“For nearly two years now, California’s Proposition 187 has languished in the federal courts because its provisions were claimed to clash with or be preempted by existing federal laws,” Wilson said in a news conference at the Capitol. “Now it’s time for the courts to respect the people’s decision . . . to deny benefits to those who have unlawfully broken into our country.”

Major portions of the anti-immigration initiative, passed by 60% of California voters, were declared illegal in November when U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer held in part that immigration is a federal matter that cannot be circumvented by states. She also struck down provisions for reporting illegal immigrants as an unlawful state scheme to regulate immigration.

But the welfare reform bill signed by President Clinton last month requires states to deny federal and state benefits to illegal residents and to report them to the INS. Wilson officials believe that will resolve Pfaelzer’s complaint about the initiative.

“This new law makes it very clear that there is not just federal authorization but actually a directive under federal law to do just that,” Wilson said.

The action Wilson filed in court Tuesday seeks a “status hearing” on the Proposition 187 lawsuit, now almost two years old. At the conference with the judge and lawyers from both sides, Wilson attorneys plan to ask that Pfaelzer reconsider the portions of Proposition 187 that were affected by Washington’s welfare reform law.

If Wilson is upheld, the state plans to cut off all public services for illegal immigrants except elementary and high school education; emergency health care and incarceration.

Two weeks ago, Wilson responded to the federal welfare reform bill with an executive order that told all state agencies to search their jurisdictions for programs that serve illegal immigrants. He ordered an immediate cutoff for two programs that had been identified--prenatal and nursing home care for illegal immigrants.

Wilson is expected to notify county governments within days regarding their programs for prenatal and nursing home care of illegal immigrants. At that point, advocates for illegal immigrants contend he will be in violation of Pfaelzer’s order.

Comparing Wilson’s strategy to “spitting in the face of a federal judge,” an immigration rights advocate accused Wilson of grandstanding to reclaim the national attention he lost since his presidential bid fizzled embarrassingly.

“The governor is experiencing remorse that he wasn’t nominated for president and he is doing everything he can to grab headlines,” said attorney Mark Rosenbaum, representing opponents of Proposition 187. “There is no way that any bar on health or social services can go into effect any time in the near future.”

Circulating through the Capitol on Tuesday, Wilson pressed his immigration case to House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and other GOP leaders trying to dislodge an immigration reform bill from a conference committee, where it has been stuck all summer.

The impasse concerns an amendment by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) that would allow states to bar illegal immigrant children from attending public schools. Some senators consider the move too harsh.

Gingrich predicted passage in light of a recent compromise that would allow illegal immigrants now in elementary school to stay there through the sixth grade, then require them to pay tuition. Undocumented students beyond sixth grade could complete high school, provided they do not change school districts.

But California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a conference committee member, warned that the entire bill could be lost if “poison pills” like Gallegly’s amendment are included.

Times staff writers Dave Lesher, Marc Lacey and States News Service contributed to this story.