THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE: MAYOR RESURRECTS OFFICE TO ASSIST IMMIGRANTS REGARDLESS OF STATUS.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer

Angering groups backing a crackdown on illegal immigration, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will revive a city office that helps new arrivals to Los Angeles get municipal services and participate in civic life without regard to their legal status.

The mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs has been inactive for a year but the Villaraigosa administration, noting more than 40 percent of the city's residents are foreign-born, said the service is needed to inform immigrants about city laws and how City Hall works.

``It's a service not just to immigrants but the rest of the community,'' said Thomas Saenz, counsel to Villaraigosa. ``We're making sure we have common community connections and common understanding of civic life.''

The office was created in 2004 by then-Mayor James Hahn and approved by the City Council, using $125,000 in federal funds. Political consultant and Planned Parenthood executive Nora E. Vargas was hired to head the office but left within a year.

Hahn didn't seek funding in the 2005 budget and the office disappeared.

But Villaraigosa, who defeated Hahn last year, now intends to jump-start the operation, using staffers from his office and the city's Human Relations Commission. A start-up date has not been set.

Officials said Villaraigosa began planning the renewed operation before immigration reform became a national issue and before hundreds of thousands of Angelenos took to the streets demanding expanded rights for illegal immigrants.

The office will not deal with immigration legislation, officials insisted.

Instead, its services will include helping elderly immigrants who have never before visited a local senior center, ensuring that immigrants know the city's license and tax rules when opening a business and evaluating bilingual materials and outreach efforts to immigrant communities.

Groups advocating a crackdown on illegal immigration criticized the plan, saying they worry that taxpayer money will be used to assist those in the country illegally.

``If this office is no way delineating if someone seeking help is legal or not, it's not only dubious, it's illegal,'' said Thomas Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. The nonprofit law firm already has filed suit against the Los Angeles Police Department, challenging its policy of not asking suspects their immigration status.

Immigrant-rights groups said legal status should not be an issue in providing services.

``There's a very, very high percentage of immigrants living, working and opening businesses in Los Angeles. These groups should have a place to come together and work with local government on issues that affect these populations in the city,'' said Moises Escalante, program coordinator in Southern California for the Interfaith Coalition for Immigrants Rights.

Under Villaraigosa's plan, the Office of Immigrant Affairs would be a joint venture between the Mayor's Office and the Human Relations Commission. Officials would get the office started and the mayor's staff will look for grants and private funding to help expand the office, Saenz said.

Because the City Council previously OK'd creating the office, no additional approvals are needed.

Los Angeles follows New York, Chicago and Houston, which have departments dedicated to working with immigrants, said council President Eric Garcetti.

``We don't fear immigration so much as we fear social division, and this is a way to bridge that gap.''

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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