INS Issues Warrant for Wilson’s Former Maid, Sources Say

SAN DIEGO —  The Immigration and Naturalization Service on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for the Mexican maid who was at the center of a political controversy in 1995 involving Gov. Pete Wilson, sources said.

After a weekly newspaper reported that Josefina Delgado Klag was spotted in La Jolla, the INS issued the warrant for the 53-year-old Klag, who worked for Wilson and his first wife, Betty, for several years while he was mayor of San Diego.

An INS spokesman refused to confirm or deny that a warrant was issued.

Klag’s immigration status became a political issue in May 1995 after the Wilson administration announced that the governor was paying $3,000 in back Social Security taxes, penalties and interest for the maid. Wilson insisted that he thought she was a citizen when his wife hired her in late 1978 or early 1979.

After Democrats raised questions last year about her immigration status, the INS sought to question Klag about whether she attempted to qualify for a work permit in 1979 by marrying an American while she was already married. But Klag did not comply with INS requests to come to its offices for an interview.

Until the San Diego Weekly Reader reported that she had been seen at the La Jolla home of Wilson’s friend Rebecca Irwin, authorities thought Klag had returned to Mexico. If she received a work permit improperly, she could be deported.

Irwin, contacted by The Times, said that Klag uses her address for mail and other purposes but does not work or live there. Irwin, a former employer of Klag, declined to say where Klag lives.

“She has done nothing wrong,” Irwin said. “She does not want to talk to anybody. This whole thing has just about ruined her life.”

Wilson’s opponents have claimed that he is a hypocrite for supporting Proposition 187, which seeks to restrict public benefits to illegal immigrants, even though he once hired an illegal immigrant.

The flap arose while Wilson was seeking the Republican nomination for president on a platform of getting tough on illegal immigration.

An investigation during the summer of 1995 by Wilson’s attorney and close friend, John Davies, concluded that Klag may have been in this country illegally for several months at the beginning of her service in the Wilson household before she qualified for resident alien status. Still, Davies noted that it was not illegal to hire an illegal immigrant until the Immigration Reform Act was passed in 1986.

Wilson press secretary Sean Walsh, asked about the governor’s reaction to the arrest warrant being issued, said: “We are not aware of the tabloid story nor of any action the INS has taken and have no comment.”

Even after Wilson dropped out of the presidential race, the California Democratic Party continued to criticize him for hiring Klag and urged the INS to investigate such issues as whether he helped her receive her work permit.