A Deal on Immigrant Aid That Wilson Should Accept

Gov. Pete Wilson is being shortsighted in refusing to accept the Clinton administration’s proposal to restore federal funding of disability and medical benefits for legal immigrants. In effect, he is thumbing his nose at billions of dollars in federal aid that California badly needs.

The president’s proposed plan would allow legal immigrants who become disabled after arriving in the United States to retain eligibility for full Medicaid health coverage and Supplemental Security Income for the poor who are elderly, disabled or blind.

Clinton has proposed allocating almost $15 billion over four years for that purpose. If approved by Congress, his plan would also restore SSI and Medicaid eligibility for children of noncitizen legal immigrants, delay food stamp cutoffs for immigrants for six months, and extend the time in which refugees and political asylum beneficiaries may receive financial aid after entering the country.

For some years now, Wilson has been complaining about the cost to state governments of providing services for immigrants, particularly in California. He has even sued Washington seeking reimbursement. Yet, now that he has the opportunity to draw on a large sum, the governor says the president’s proposal is a “new entitlement,” that it would act as a magnet for immigrants. There appears to be a contradiction here.

Granted, broadening Medicaid coverage may result in some additional costs to state government. California pays about 50% of the Medi-Cal program, as Medicaid is known here. It is also true that the restoration of SSI could shave some of the millions that the state anticipates it may save. But while the state may spend some millions more, the Clinton proposal would put billions into state coffers. Why pass up a good deal? The governor’s tired argument that immigrants are drawn to California by government benefits rather than jobs has never seemed weaker.

Local officials, who bear the burden of administering aid to immigrants, should persuade the governor to overlook his anti-immigrant politics in this case. Perhaps they can even persuade Wilson to help sell Clinton’s plan to a Republican-controlled Congress. It is too good a deal for California to pass up. The governor’s tired argument that immigrants are drawn to California by government benefits rather than jobs has never seemed weaker.