Green Card’s Demise Signals End of an Era

An era came to a close Wednesday as the “green card” of yore changed its color and went high-tech against a backdrop of a new reality for this country’s legal immigrants.

As the deadline loomed, huge crowds lined up to apply for the new cards, which are pink and, like their predecessors, grant legal permanent residence and all that goes with it: the right to work and receive social benefits.

But clearly, the green card is not the final goal it used to be.

Experts say what it represented for many--becoming a legal resident without pursuing citizenship--is becoming a thing of the past.

They note that many legal immigrants, sensing that the public mood has turned against them in the wake of the passage of Proposition 187, are now opting to become U.S. citizens.

“This is an end to an era because an overwhelming majority of legal residents want to join the mainstream of American society,” said Juan Jose Gutierrez, head of an immigration agency on Los Angeles’ Eastside. “They want to be citizens.”

That was true of 49-year-old Juan Solorio of San Pedro, who stood in a long line with other last-minute applicants outside the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles. “I think [U.S. citizenship] is better than the green card,” Solorio said. “I’m not going anywhere else. Elections affect us. We can express ourselves through voting, not only Latin people but everybody.”

And Solorio, who was born in Mexico but has lived in this country since the age of 12, isn’t alone.

Most social service agencies dealing with immigrant issues have reported a surge in interest in citizenship, particularly after the passage in 1994 of Proposition 187. The measure, which is still being contested in the courts, was aimed at cutting educational, health and other social services to illegal immigrants, but it has been interpreted by many legal immigrants as a threat to them as well.

Immigration and Naturalization Service officials report that there is an unprecedented backlog of more than 200,000 applications for U.S. citizenship in Los Angeles.

Other pressures have added to the sudden surge to citizenship.

Legislative measures against illegal immigrants were once of little consequence to legal residents, but the growing congressional sentiment to also cut benefits to legal immigrants has prompted many to opt for U.S. citizenship, immigration experts agree.

“I might as well apply for U.S. citizenship if they’re going to cut my benefits as a legal resident,” said Paris-born Andre Quillen while he waited outside the Federal Building to apply for a new card.

The changeover applies to cards issued before 1979, which lacked the bearer’s signature and fingerprints.

During the surges of illegal immigration in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, federal immigration authorities were outraged at the cottage industry that dealt in fraudulent green cards. The problem got so bothersome that authorities mounted various efforts, replete with heavy fines and stiff jail terms, against those who made money off the fake documents, but they were met with varying success.

The new pink cards feature the holder’s picture, signature and a computer bar code in an effort to combat counterfeit versions. They must be renewed every 10 years. The old green card had no expiration date. It also wasn’t green--at least after 1964.

Shortly after the end of World War II, INS officials introduced a new immigration card for legal residents. It replaced outdated paperwork that was cumbersome and easily lost. The new card also reflected this country’s effort to deal with the immigration boom in the late 1940s by creating a simple form of identification.

It became commonly known as the “green card.”

In 1964, government officials revised the card and changed its color to blue, although INS officials and others continued to refer to it as being green.

Over the years, it has been other colors, even a white-pinkish shade that some bureaucrats can’t even begin to describe, but it was still a green card to those who wanted it.

INS officials estimate that it will take more than nine months for applicants who signed up for the new pink card to receive it. The backlog of applications is large and it will take some time before they can be handled, they added.

As the sun rose Wednesday, people started lining up outside the Federal Building to beat the government-imposed deadline to apply for the new document, formally known as Form I-151 Alien Registration Card.

Mike Rust of Redondo Beach rushed downtown once he read in the morning paper that Wednesday was the last day to apply.

“I realized I had to get down here and quick,” said Rust, 37, as he waited in line at the downtown INS office, which opened early to handle the larger-than-expected crowds.

Rust, who was born in Denmark, has lived in the United States since he was a year old, but has decided to hang on to his Danish citizenship.

Estella Ceja, 42, took the day off from work to go downtown, but she worried about how much time it would take to apply for the new card.

“We don’t know how long we’re going to be here, maybe the whole day,” the native of Mexico said. But by 7 a.m., the line had sped up, and she was inside the office and out within the hour.

Those who missed Wednesday’s deadline can still apply for a new pink card at INS offices. But immigration authorities emphasized that they must apply or face the possibility of being detained at a U.S. port of entry or being denied employment if they do not have evidence that they have applied for the new card.

Times staff writer Paul Johnson contributed to this story.