Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Man’s Fake ID Escapes Prop. 187 : Santa Clarita: Supporters of the measure denounce the decision not to prosecute illegal immigrant who carried a phony Social Security card.

SANTA CLARITA — An illegal immigrant caught with phony identification escaped provisions of Proposition 187 because the law does not allow prosecution unless more than one false document is found, authorities ruled Monday.

The decision by prosecutors in Santa Clarita was quickly denounced by supporters of the controversial anti-immigration measure passed by California voters last fall.

The intent of Proposition 187 was to prosecute any illegal immigrant with falsified documents, regardless of how many were used, said Robert Kiley, a campaign consultant for the measure.

“I think it’s a blatant attempt by prosecutors at subverting the law,” Kiley said.

The defendant, Ernesto Leon, 22, admitted to police he used a false Social Security card to get a construction job in Santa Clarita, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Cynthia Ulfig.

Ulfig said a review showed the law requires that “false documents” had to be used for a person to be prosecuted. She said the plural reference, even if unintentional, left prosecutors with no choice.

“All we have is a false Social Security card,” she said. “We need the Social Security card plus false representation of some other item.”

Leon remains in custody without bail because he was a parolee who had been deported to his native El Salvador and he violated that parole by being in the country, Ulfig said. Had he been carrying more than one false ID, he would have been subject to a mandatory five-year prison term or $25,000 fine.

Leon was arrested last Thursday after deputies spotted him near William S. Hart High School, said Deputy Greg LaVal of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. LaVal said Leon is suspected of being a local gang member who was recruiting youths from schools and was dressed in gang-style clothing when he was arrested.

Ulfig said Leon confessed to having the false ID card while being booked into custody.

“They asked him for a Social Security card and he said ‘I’ve got a fake one here in my pocket. This is how I got work,”’ she said.

Suzanne Childs, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said she is not aware of any other case in which an illegal immigrant was not charged under Proposition 187 because he or she had only one forged document, but is not surprised the situation arose.

“I remember looking at the law and seeing the illegal ‘documents’ part and saying ‘What about if they have a single one?’ ” Childs said.

Asked why the proposition as written outlaws only possession of false documents, Kiley called it a matter of semantics.

“You’re talking about somebody convicted of a crime and he’s admitted to using an illegal ID to get a job,” Kiley said. “What does it take to get it across to law enforcement that we’re serious and the people of California are serious about implementing this law?”

The legal effects of the proposition have been stayed as court challenges are heard. Only the legal documents section has been enforced.

Another legal flaw in that section was discovered in January when two men pleaded guilty to manufacturing fake identifications. They received a six-month sentence after a plea bargain with prosecutors, instead of the mandatory five-year prison term or $75,000 fine that Proposition 187 drafters sought.

Prosecutors said they can use their discretion in reaching plea bargains on crimes punishable by fines as well as a prison sentences.

Such oversights in the wording of Proposition 187, not bias from the district attorney’s office, are the reason the measure has not worked out as proponents hoped, Childs said.

“It was our position before the law went into effect that it was not particularly well-drafted because it could lead to confusion,” Childs said.