Massachusetts Opens Its Arms to Aliens

Extending across the state what had been unique to Cambridge, Gov. Michael S. Dukakis last Friday signed an ordinance making Massachusetts the first state to allow illegal aliens to receive public services.

The order comes in the midst of rising tensions in Cambridge surrounding the so-called sanctuary ordinance approved last April, which has similar provisions. Several candidates in the upcoming city council race are opposed to the measure.

Under Dukakis's directive, state officials will be prohibited from requesting the residency status of persons applying for state aid. Currently, these questions are required on some government forms, and aliens can be denied aid and subject to scrutiny by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

Consequently, many nonresidents are effectively prohibited from receiving public benefits, supporters of the order say. It remains unclear which benefits in Cambridge or in the rest of the state will be affected by the order.

Effect Unclear

Ed Crotty, a spokesman for the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a state agency that will oversee the implementation of the governor's order, was unable to pinpoint exactly which, if any, services would be affected.

Cambridge Peace Commissioner Jeb Brugmann hailed Dukakis's order, saying, "It offers a freer atmosphere for refugees in Cambridge to go ahead and seek services they need."

Local pro-refugee activists welcomed the directive as a mandate for opposition to federal immigration policies.

"I thought it was just wonderful," said Julia Wallace, a member of the Sanctuary Task Force at the Old Cambridge Baptist Church.

Wallace's group is at the forefront the Cambridge sanctuary movement. Last December, the task force took in an El Salvadorean refugee who has not received residency status.

"We think this is a positive step," said Bob Warren of the Central American Solidarity Association, a political action group in Cambridge.

Emily Yozell of the Cambridge- based Central Percente, which supports aliens, said Dukakis's order clarifies state policy. Under current policy, some benefits programs request information about residency status, while some do not, Yozell said.

Not An Alien Magnet

Brugman asserted that despite the ordinance, Cambridge has not become a magnet for aliens, saying, "It protects the people who are already here." He said the refugee population had remained fairly steady.

Brugman countered objections that the new alien policies would attract "terrorists and criminals" to Massachusetts. "We're talking about [the aliens'] welfare, not protecting terrorists," he said. "I think it's a very positive move on the part of the governor."

About 20,000 to 30,000 undocumented aliens currently reside in the greater Boston area. Most come from Central American nations seen as El Salvador, where sporadic violence and poverty run rampant.

The INS has attempted to deport illegal aliens from these countries on the grounds that they are economic, not political refugees. This distinction disqualifies them from receiving citizenship under the Refugee Act of 1980.

Another provision of the directive bars state agencies from assisting the INS in apprehending illegals, although it is unclear if such assistance is actually being provided.