The news conference by four Southern California legislators came as Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez traveled to Mexico to meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox to discuss immigration and other border issues. Last week, Nunez called on Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency to combat illegal border crossings, as the Democratic governors of Arizona and New Mexico have recently done.

“There is no question the problem of illegal immigration has reached emergency proportions,” said Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Temecula.

He described how his constituents in San Diego county — many of whom live within five miles of the U.S.-Mexico border — are routinely exposed to the problems of illegal border crossings.

“They oftentimes fear for their lives, and they have to take action to protect themselves because of the flow of people going through their area,” he said.

He was joined by fellow Republican Assemblyman Mark Wyland of Vista, and GOP senators Bill Morrow of Carlsbad and Dennis Hollingsworth of Murrieta. They talked about crimes linked to illegal immigration and the consequences for California taxpayers, including the costs for incarcerating, educating and providing health care.

The four want to give Schwarzenegger statutory authority that would allow him to declare an emergency because of illegal immigration. They amended their proposal to SB1075, a measure written by Hollingsworth that would boost resources for the Office of Emergency Services in handling disasters.

State law currently allows the governor to call a state of emergency for events such as war, epidemics, natural disasters and “local emergencies,” a category that is defined broadly.

At an event in San Jose, Schwarzenegger did not specifically address the new legislation but said he would support an effort to broaden his authority to declare state emergencies. He indicated it would need Nunez’s support to bring along other Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature.

“We don’t have the statute to declare a state of emergency, so that is something that is going on today,” Schwarzenegger said. “So I think they are going to work on something, and he will be invited to sponsor, to co-sponsor, the speaker, so in case we want to declare an emergency we can in fact do so.”

Schwarzenegger has praised Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for issuing emergency declarations in their states, which unlocked a total of $3 million to fight illegal border crossings. But in San Jose on Thursday, the Republican governor reiterated his belief that the problem had not reached a comparable level of threat in California.

“New Mexico and Arizona have additional problems that California does not have, which is the killing of livestock and killing on the border, drug smuggling, human trafficking,” Schwarzenegger said.

Earlier, in a letter to Nunez released by the governor’s office, Schwarzenegger made several similar points and said he was concentrating on collecting federal assistance for fighting illegal immigration.

“Rather than take critical assistance dollars from ... individuals suffering the consequences of natural disasters, I am focusing my efforts on ensuring that California gets the federal funds and resources we deserve and have been working to this end with significant success,” Schwarzenegger wrote.

He added that he spoke to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday about problems posed by the border.

Speaking in Mexico City, Nunez said he did not believe the governor needed legislative authority to call a state of emergency over immigration. And while he had not yet read the proposed legislation, Nunez cautioned against embracing any effort that would stigmatize illegal immigrants or bolster racial tension.

“I want to make sure that race doesn’t get in the middle of it,” Nunez said. “We cannot approach this from standpoint of allowing hatred and racial divisiveness to harm relation with our number one trading partner.”

The state attorney general’s office said it had not been asked to give an opinion on the matter but would have to defend Schwarzenegger if he used illegal immigration as a basis for an emergency declaration, spokesman Nathan Barankin said.

Nunez, as one of the state’s top Democrats, also is leading his party’s fight against Schwarzenegger’s initiatives for the Nov. 8 special election, which include caps on state spending and redrawing lawmakers’ district boundaries.

A statewide poll released Thursday shows Schwarzenegger’s job approval rating at just 34 percent. Schwarzenegger responded to the poll in San Jose, where he toured a sheet metal plant to tout his workers’ compensation reforms.

“Our campaign hasn’t started yet. We’re going to start after Labor Day, and then we’re going to get our message out there of what our initiatives are all about,” he said.

Schwarzenegger noted that Proposition 66, an effort to weaken California’s three-strikes law, was defeated at the polls last November after he and law enforcement officials mounted a last-minute campaign against it. The initiative led in polls only weeks before the election.

“It’s all about messaging,” Schwarzenegger said. “It’s all about educating the people... The people are smart.”