Alienating the Aliens

Backlash against the plan for illegal immigrants

Across the winding Texas-Mexican frontier and through the Chula Vista corridor south of San Diego, illegal Mexican immigrants have been entering the U.S. in record numbers in search of jobs and relief from poverty at home. "They have some vague idea that if they get here, they might be able to stay," says Border Patrol Agent Tom Johnson in McAllen, Texas. "It doesn't take much of a rumor to get them started."

Small wonder. With unemployment in Mexico now rising above 40%, President Carter's proposal of "amnesty" for many of the 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. might seem like the answer to the impossible dream. Soon, perhaps this week, the Administration will deliver its long-awaited package to Congress in finished form. There it is certain to be the focus of fierce debate. Although the compact, 20-page bill was still being refined last week, its major--and most debatable--feature is the amnesty provision. Many fear that it will only encourage more illegal immigrants to cross the border, adding to the burden on al ready overtaxed U.S. services and taking more jobs that might be held by American citizens. Specifically, Carter wants to grant permanent resident status--and the right to apply for eventual citizenship--to all aliens who entered the U.S. illegally before 1970. That group, however, totals no more than 500,000 persons. Those who came in between 1970 and the end of last year--perhaps as many as 10 million of the illegals--would fall into a newly created category of temporary residents eligible for work permits allowing them to stay on five more years. Those who had entered the U.S. since the first of the year would be summarily deported.

With 80% of the illegal alien population originating in Mexico, Carter's plan has upset many Hispanics already holding U.S. citizenship. Chief reason: the provision letting 1970-76 illegal immigrants stay on only temporarily. California Congressman Edward R. Roybal, leader of the House's five-member Hispanic caucus, charges that this will create a new "sub-class of braceros "--the Mexican laborers who under much criticized programs from 1942 to 1964 were granted temporary papers to work on U.S. farms and then sent home at the end of the harvest. Carter's class of temporary residents would not be eligible for federal benefits, such as Medicaid and food stamps; they also could not bring in their families and would have no guarantee that they could apply for citizenship when their five-year grace period was up.

The central crusade against the Carter program is being fought by the National Coalition for Fair Immigration Laws and Practices, an amalgam of several organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Indian Movement. For different reasons, both legal and illegal Hispanic residents find dangers in the Carter plan. Those who hold U.S. citizenship are fearful that the program would empower federal agents to harass Hispanics in general in an intensified search for those without proper papers. If Hispanic leaders accept the five-year work permit idea, insists Alberto Juarez, director of a legal aid program in East Los Angeles, "we will be lulling people into a situation where we will face massive deportations." Hispanic leaders want general amnesty for all illegal aliens--or at least the right for those who obtain the five-year work permits to apply for citizenship. Carter aides, however, foresee no roundup at the end of the period, which would begin with passage of the bill. They predict further legislation that might allow those with work permits to remain indefinitely.

Another major concern among Hispanics is that the provision for $1,000 fines for those hiring illegals without work permits will prompt many employers to protect themselves by not hiring anyone of Hispanic descent. At their convention in Fresno, Calif., Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers union condemned the program as an attempt "to promote wholesale discrimination in employment against all workers who have dark skins and speak languages other than English."

Farm operators, in contrast, appear relatively pleased with the plan. They were distinctly relieved that Carter turned aside demands for tough identity requirements for illegals applying for work permits, and agreed that Social Security cards could suffice to establish an applicant's eligibility. As both farmers and aliens are well aware, Carter's soft stand on documentation would make the new rules tough to enforce. A busy black-market trade in old rent receipts and utility bills has already sprung up in California as illegals seek means to prove they were in the U.S. before 1970--and thus qualify for full citizenship under the Carter plan.

Meanwhile, the flow of new immigrants continues. In the heavily traveled Chula Vista corridor between Tijuana and San Diego, beefed-up U.S. patrols picked up 35,100 illegals last month, compared with 21,300 in August of last year. Says a Border Patrol agent: "They are anticipating that they are going to heaven in the U.S. where all the goodies are." Many of them probably never heard of Carter's program. "And even if they knew," says Leonel Castillo, Immigration and Naturalization commissioner, "the prime factor is jobs." No matter why they come, many of their predecessors are say ing, the goodies may ultimately be harder to come by than ever.

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