VITAL SIGNSrnCitizenship andrnImmigrationrnby Governor Pete WilsonrnEvery evening, thousands of peoplernline up just south of California’srnborder with Mexico. They wait for darknessrnto fall so they can slip across the borderrnand illegally enter our country. ThernBorder Patrol succeeds in catching asrnmany as half of these people, but thousandsrnmore still succeed at illegally enteringrnour country each and ever’ day.rnI don’t fault people trying to find arnbetter life in our nation. In fact, it’s hardrnnot to admire their courage and determination.rnAmerica is a nation of immigrantsrn—three of my own grandparentsrnwere immigrants to America. Theyrncame for the same reason anyonerncomes—to build a better future. Theyrnbrought their hopes and dreams, and thernnation benefited from them and millionsrnlike them. But there’s a limit tornhow many immigrants we can assimilaternat once.rnDuring just the past four years,rnenough people to fill a city the size ofrnOakland have illegally crossed the borderrninto California. In Los Angeles alone,rnillegal aliens and their children totalrnnearly a million people—that’s a city ofrnillegal immigrants the size of San Diegornliving in our midst. If wc ignore thisrnflood of illegal immigration, we’ll erodernthe quality of life for all those who livernhere legally. And make no mistake, ourrnquality of life is threatened by this tidalrnwave of illegal immigrants.rnOur classrooms are already bursting,rnbut by federal law the}”re open to anyonernwho can clandestinely slip across America’srn2,000-mile border. Our publicrnhealth care facilities are swamped, butrntwo-thirds of all babies born in L.A. publicrnhospitals are born to parents who havernillegally entered the United States. Andrnthe budgets for our parks, beaches, libraries,rnand public safety will continue tornsuffer while California spends billions tornincarcerate enough illegal aliens to fillrneight state prisons.rnIt’s hardworking recent legal immigrantsrnwho suffer the most from our failurernto deal with illegal immigration. Legalrnimmigrants suffer lower wages andrnlost jobs when illegal immigration grows.rnAnd it’s legal immigrants who bear thernbrunt of the backlash that comes when arnnation can’t control its borders. That’srnwhy we must return reason and fairnessrnto America’s immigration laws. The solutionrnto the problem lies not on ourrnborder but in policies devised 3,000rnmiles to the east in our nation’s capital.rnThe federal government has failed miserablyrnat controlling the border. CrossingrnAmerica’s Southern border is easierrnthan crossing most streets in L.A. Millionsrnhave done it, and millions morernwill if we don’t take action.rnFirst, I’ve urged President Clinton tornseek assistance from the Mexican governmentrnto help stop the flood of illegal immigrantsrnon the Mexican side of our border.rnThe ratification of NAFTA is arngolden opportunity to secure the cooperationrnof the Mexican government inrnour shared responsibility to preventrnillegal immigration. But controllingrnthe border alone isn’t enough. In fact,rnthere’s little point in even having a BorderrnPatrol if we’re going to continue tornreward those who successfully violaternU.S. law and enter our country illegally.rnToday, the federal government forcesrnthe states to give health care, education,rnand other benefits to illegal aliens.rnThese mandated services cost Californiarntaxpayers nearly $3 billion a year. That’srn$3 billion we must cut from the servicesrnwe provide legal residents of California.rnSaving just the $ 1 billion we spend educatingrnillegal immigrants in Californiarnschools would allow us to put a newrncomputer on every fifth grader’s schoolrndesk; provide preschool services to anrnadditional 67,000 four-year-olds; expandrnHealthy Start Centers to an additionalrn750 sites; and provide 12.5 million tutorialrnand mentoring hours to at-risk youth.rnBecause depriving legal California residentsrnof these services is wrong, I’m alsornurging Congress to repeal the federalrnmandates that require states to providernhealth care, education, and other benefitsrnto illegal immigrants. The Presidentrnand Congress should pay for these mandatesrnas long as they require the states tornprovide them. But what they shouldrnreally do is repeal them, or they will simplyrnencourage and reward continuedrnillegal immigration. Congress shouldrncreate a tamper-proof legal resident eligibilityrncard and require it of everyonernseeking government benefits.rnFinally, we must fundamentally rethinkrnthe very foundation of our immigrationrnlaws. The 14th Amendment tornthe Constitution has been interpretedrnas granting citizenship to every childrnborn on American soil, even to childrenrnwhose parents are illegal aliens. Some illegalsrncome to our country simply tornhave a child born on American soil whorncan then gain American citizenship andrna host of public benefits. Just since 1988,rnthe number of children of illegal aliensrnon our state’s welfare rolls has grownrnmore than fourfold.rnOf course, the clear purpose of thern14th Amendment when it was adoptedrnthree years after the Civil War was tornvalidate the citizenship rights of formerrnslaves and their children. It was never intendedrnto be a reward for illegal immigration.rnIt’s time to amend the Constitutionrnso that citizenship belongs only tornthe children of legal residents of thernUnited States.rnPresident Clinton did not create therngrave problem of illegal immigration; herninherited it. But this exclusively federalrnresponsibility now belongs to him and tornCongress. They must move without delayrnto enact these critical reforms to ourrnnation’s immigration laws. There is norntime to waste, because the problemrnNOVEMBER 1993/45rnrnrn