UNIQUE AMONG MICHIGAN'S those who pay taxes to Uncle Sam, helped solve the problem of how to drastically cut welfare pro- grams without offending politi- cally important constituencies. The Democrats are not mere innocents in this. It was the Clin- ton administration, after all, that first proposed the idea of using cuts in benefits to legal immi- grants to fund welfare reform, a policy the president later blamed on the Republicans even as he was signing their bill. The spoken message was one of fiscal moderation: We simply can't afford all these benefits, leg- islators explained. But the effect was blatant discrimination and a nod to traditional American na- tivism. Money also is the pretext used by congressional Republicans who are now trying to ax the 1989 law making it easier for Jews from the former-Soviet Union to gain refugee status. In fact, the Lautenberg Amendment is essentially free of cost. But lawmakers who couldn't kill it by arguing on the merits shuffled numbers on the budget sheets to assign it a cost — which then made it more acceptable to ax the law. In effect, an unholy coalition has been created, consisting of cynical politicians eager to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment as a lightning rod to deflect voters' po- litical angst, and more moderate political leaders who don't want to take the heat for budget cuts the nation has decided are es- sential. That has given the process a momentum it lacked in earlier years — a momentum that Jew- ish leaders see as a direct threat to their own communities' inter- ests. In practical terms, the barrage of restrictive legislation poses po- tenti 21 economic problems for Jew- ish groups here, and danger for Jews in other parts of the world. Jews continue to support thou- sands of Jewish immigrants, pri- marily from the former-Soviet Union. Many are elderly and liv- ing near the poverty line. For them, the welfare-law cuts that will become effective this August could prove devastating. Every time programs for im- migrants are cut, Jewish social service agencies are called on to make up the difference. If current trends continue, Jewish donors will be called on to cough up mil- lions more in the next few years. Jewish groups also worry that the tide of restrictionist policy could close the narrow window of opportunity for Jewish refugees that was opened with great effort by Soviet Jewry groups in the 1970s and 1980s. Once the win- dow is closed, they believe, it will be politically difficult to reopen it — even if a turn to ultra-nation- alism or a return to Communism produces a new emergency for the 2 million Jews remaining in the former Soviet Union. But more alarming than any of these factors is what this new, fiscally tinged nativism implies about the American future. Jewish leaders almost across the board believe that the accel- . erating effort to use newcomers as ideological and fiscal scape- goats represents a dangerous le- gitimization of discrimination and bigotry. Immigrant bashing is a foot in a door we thought we'd closed decades ago. Animosities stirred up by these reckless politicians won't target just Mexican gar- deners in San Diego and Somali cab drivers in Washington; even- tually, every minority will be threatened, Jews included. "Congress is playing with fire when it targets legal immigrants to take the brunt of budget cuts," said an official with one Jewish group in Washington. "It's not a fire easily contained." ❑ JAMES D. BESSER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT T SPECTACULAR RESTAURANTS & BANQUET CENTERS The perfect lakeside setting for elegant bridal showers, rehearsal dinners and wedding receptions. Call (810) 463-9660 for complete assistance to make your wedding a memorable occasion. 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