Perspective: Immigration double standard

A Times Editorial

Immigration double standard

The White House hasn't shown much interest in repairing the harshest provisions of the immigration law President Clinton signed in 1996, which has resulted in the detention or deportation of record numbers of immigrants for minor offenses or paperwork problems. But the Clinton administration took a great interest in an effort to accelerate the citizenship process for Hispanic immigrants whose leaders promised "a great chance to create a whole lot of pro-Clinton voters."

The double standard couldn't be much more glaring: Thousands of immigrants languish in federal detention as a result of the 1996 law allowing them to be detained or deported without due process.

Meanwhile, many violent felons were fast-tracked for citizenship thanks to the administration's political intervention to speed up the naturalization process for thousands of immigrants in time for the 1996 presidential election.

As Times Washington bureau chief Sara Fritz reported last week, Vice President Al Gore acknowledges having authorized the effort to process citizenship applications more quickly, as part of his office's broader effort to "reinvent government." However, Gore denies that the effort was politically motivated.

He should tell that to the top officials from the Justice Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service who were browbeaten by members of Gore's staff. A Justice Department investigation makes it clear that Gore aides invoked the vice president's name in pressuring INS Commissioner Doris Meissner, then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick and other officials to relax INS rules to speed up the naturalization process.

As for Gore, his memory turned conveniently fuzzy in his written responses to questions from the Justice Department's Inspector General's Office. He repeatedly responded that he "does not recall" or "does not remember" details involving his actions in setting the INS review in motion. However, it is a matter of record that Gore authorized his staff to get involved after he met in Los Angeles in March 1996 with a group of Hispanic leaders whose interest in relaxing the naturalization rules was overtly political.

Immigrants in this country deserve to be treated fairly and equally, regardless of the political consequences. For now, though, U.S. immigration policy is the worst of both worlds. While government authorities occasionally have intervened on behalf of Democratic-leaning Mexican immigrants in California or Republican-leaning Cuban immigrants in Florida, the 1996 immigration laws have dealt harshly with thousands of immigrants who enjoy no special political connections.

Based on Vice President Gore's staff's performance in "reinventing immigration," the job of correcting the excesses of the 1996 legislation should be carried out as far from the White House as possible.