RASHNESS MAY FOLLOW WALKOUT.

Byline: Jill Stewart 

WITH California political leaders already behaving illogically and erratically on illegal immigration, I have a sense of dread about what they'll do after Monday's job walkout by backers of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

For years, illegal-immigration policy in California has been driven by fear.

Fear of being unfairly labeled "anti-Latino" is one reason the California Legislature doesn't study basic questions like "What does it cost the average California taxpayer to support an illegal immigrant?"

Now, even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has begun pandering to the illegal immigrant lobby. The other day, Schwarzenegger publicly condemned threats made to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa after they attended a pro-illegal immigration rally.

California political leaders receive creepy threats from hateful people on a regular basis. The threats are not considered "news" and are usually kept quiet to avoid encouraging wackos. Schwarzenegger, in an election-year ploy, turned the threats into news, then used his fake platform to imply that a broader, uglier problem was afoot.

We're all so relieved the governor cleared that up.

Such antics- by all sorts of California politicians- are likely to become even worse as the November elections approach. And that should worry us all, because antics can easily turn into laws.

We live in a state where many illegal-immigration problems are self-inflicted. If California's politicians overreact to Monday's walkouts, they are certain to make things worse.

For example, our Legislature creates costly programs and policies that beckon poor families to leave their rural villages in Mexico. If our pols start heavily pandering in the wake of big demonstrations demanding amnesty for illegal immigrants, we'll see more of the same.

My "favorite" benefit is the in-state tuition break given since 2002 to illegal immigrant students. It's a grossly unfair practice that most California taxpayers don't even know about, but they're paying for it. Students unlucky enough to be "outsiders" from places like Oregon must pay steep out-of-state tuition. But if you're here illegally and attended California high school voila!- you'll get several thousand dollars in in-state tuition breaks.

Taxpayers also pay vast sums to house more than 10,000 illegal immigrants from Mexico in California prisons. Billions have been spent. But it's very hush-hush, because our state legislators are busy loudly pointing fingers at more politically correct causes for prison overcrowding.

The media are just as bad. The other day, state media outlets reported on the terrible prison overcrowding in California, but most of them kept silent about the hard-core convicts jamming our prisons from Mexico.

Then there's the huge hit to our state treasury from illegal-immigrant income-tax evaders. According to a 2005 study for Bear Stearns by Robert Justich and Betty Ng, an estimated 4 million to 6 million jobs nationally have "shifted to the underground market," and 5 million illegal immigrant workers nationwide duck their taxes.

Naturally, California is the center of this outrageous behavior. But Attorney General Bill Lockyer has largely failed to crack down on the under-the-table payments that rob California's strained treasury.

With all the pandering and excuse-making inside California, Schwarzenegger has been better than most politicians up to now. He stared down the hysterical demands for those terrorist-friendly, no-background-check driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. More than any other California politician, he has pressured the Mexicans to take back their prison convicts.

But how will Schwarzenegger and other pols behave this election year? Most were afraid to offend the illegal immigration lobby long before they saw images of a sea of mostly Latinos marching on Los Angeles City Hall. That's why politicians buckled for years in the face of Mexican President Vicente Fox's petulance on taking back Mexican prisoners; that's why they don't crack down on illegal immigrants who duck taxes; that's why they soak California taxpayers to subsidize perks like in-state tuition.

If the Spanish-language talk radio stations manage to once again whip up big crowds to support amnesty on Monday, I predict the California Legislature and Schwarzenegger will grow even more incapable of adopting coherent immigration laws.

That's sad for all of us, including Mexicans still in Mexico. Mexico's lack of jobs and capital arises from its autocratic leaders, who since before Abe Lincoln's time have stubbornly pursued backward, anti-capitalist programs. As long as California acts as a giant relief valve, Mexico won't change.

That wouldn't be a victory, but a tragedy for both California and Mexico.