U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson said Wednesday he supports an initiative to declare English the official language of California and wants Congress to do the same nationally.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Times, Wilson also said it may be necessary to seal the Mexican border with a physical barrier or with troops. Pending federal legislation to penalize employers of illegal aliens, he said, is unlikely to supply the substantial cut in the influx over the border that he said is necessary.

Wilson said he had not read Proposition 63, the controversial English-only measure on the Nov. 4 ballot, but that he intends to vote for it because “it’s been nothing but trouble” for nations such as Canada, where more than one language has comparable status.

He said he will vote for it “simply because I think nationally it is unwise to encourage any duality. . . . There is not only no harm but a good deal of wisdom in stating that English will be the official language.”

Proposition 63 says that the Legislature “shall take all steps necessary to ensure that the role of English as the common language of the state of California is preserved and enhanced.”

The measure does not specify where English would be mandatory, but does permit residents to sue the state if they believe the requirement is being violated.

Opponents claim the measure panders to anti-immigrant “hysteria” and would lead to slashes in government support for services like bilingual education and court translators, and even would inhibit the practice of advertising in different languages.

Proponents generally deny those claims, though some say they would like to see restrictions on teaching children in languages other than English.

While supporting Proposition 63, Wilson said, “I am a little leery of states and cities having their own foreign policy and I think this kind of thing is better dealt with at the federal level.” He said Congress should establish a national English-only policy, and added, “I think we probably will.”

Wilson said he opposes bilingual ballots, which are required in some cases by the federal Voting Rights Act, but not the “reasonable” use of bilingual materials for advertising, consumer contracts and street signs.

Like opponents of Proposition 63, Wilson said he has sensed a growing hostility toward immigrants. But that is partially because people know the “border is out of control,” he said.

Problem With Employers

He supports a pending federal crackdown on employers who hire illegal aliens, but predicted it will be ineffective. “People come here for reasons other than a job,” he said. “I think they want their babies born here. I think they want a better way of life, more freedom, more opportunity, better health care, better education. . . .”

If such penalties do not curb illegal immigration by a sizable amount within two or three years, Wilson said, “then you’ve got to look at the very unfortunate, the very politically repugnant choice of closing (the border) physically, which means either with some sort of physical barrier or with armed guards. . . . It would be enormously costly, but think how costly it would be to do nothing.”

The Mexican government is ignoring illegal border crossings, the senator said, adding that “it would be better from their standpoint and from ours to make a cooperative effort . . . as an alternative to what we may be otherwise driven to.”

On a separate subject, Wilson announced a new $22.7-million federal contract for the Long Beach naval shipyard, saying it would save about 1,000 jobs at the troubled facility. The contract to overhaul the destroyer Fletcher is part of a strategy to funnel repair work to the yard, which has had trouble competing with East Coast and Gulf Coast yards for shipbuilding contracts, Wilson said.



Comments are closed.