By Sue Zeidler

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., May 26 (Reuters) They are the cooks, the waitresses, the cleaners, the construction workers, the carpenters and the factory workers of San Bernardino.

They are part of the large immigrant community in this working-class Southern California city that pays rent, buys food and spends what it doesn't send home to Mexico or Central America.

But a controversial measure being debated in the city council chambers -- proposed by activists who blame the immigrants for packed schools, overcrowded emergency rooms, lost jobs and depressed wages -- seeks to ban undocumented workers from renting apartments and punish anyone who hires them.

If the measure becomes law, these people would have to leave.

''They shouldn't do that. They're not taking from the community.

They're giving to the community,'' said an auto repair worker who only gave his name as Domingo while on a lunch break this week in San Bernardino.

As federal immigration reform is debated 5,300 km away by a deeply divided Congress, U S cities feel pressured to take matters into their own hands.

And what happens in this city, where Latinos make up half the population of 200,000 and some 30,000 are either documented or undocumented immigrants, is also likely to have national ramifications.

The local proposal, authored by anti-illegal immigrant activist Joseph Turner, was narrowly rejected, 4-3, by the city council this month, but automatically goes to a special city-wide vote in September.

''We're the guinea pig for Joe Turner's national crusade,'' said Mayor Patrick Morris, who is fighting the measure he calls unconstitutional and says will divide the city and cost it ''millions of dollars'' as the local economy rebounds.

TOWNS CITE 'OVERCROWDING' Turner, 29, does indeed hope his efforts will be copied in other jurisdictions.

''Common sense dictates that having millions of people from the Third World here illegally does not benefit our society,'' he said. ''I'm hoping other local governments open their minds.'' Turner's message is resonating elsewhere in California, where some three million of the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in America live.

In San Diego County, Escondido City Councilman Ed Gallo is trying to determine if measures like Turner's can legally be adopted, saying his city is suffering from overcrowding due to immigrants.

''One way to cut back on overcrowding is to stop landlords from indiscriminately renting to undocumented immigrants. We have to send a message to our federal government,'' said Gallo.

In Orange County, the community of Costa Mesa has been embroiled in controversy since it adopted a resolution in December to train police to check suspected felons' immigration status.

Back in San Bernardino, Latinos fear the local crackdown.

''I'm scared of the racism that will result. It's bad to turn landlords into immigration agents,'' said Isabel Lopez, a caregiver at a senior housing facility.

Pro-immigration groups are campaigning hard to show that San Bernardino cannot survive without these workers.

''They're a large community that makes a vital contribution to San Bernardino,'' said Armando Navarro, coordinator of the pro-immigrant National Alliance for Human Rights.

Navarro said big opponents like the American Civil Liberties Union will challenge the measure in court if it wins the September vote.

Ironically, both the mayor of San Bernardino and the author of the proposal agree on one thing: the federal government is not doing enough on immigration.

''Our borders are porous ... but there doesn't appear to be the political courage to get the business done,'' said Mayor Morris.

REUTERS SRS DS1105