Leonel Martinez wants to become a U.S. citizen, but he's doing it out of fear.

Martinez, who came from El Salvador and got his green card in 1974, grew concerned after hearing politicians blame California's economic woes on illegal immigrants and propose restrictions in benefits for non-citizens.

"Before, it was safe to be a (permanent) resident," said the 46-year-old father of six. "But not now, because anything could happen."

Martinez is one of the record 5,200 students who have enrolled this year in U.S. citizenship classes offered by the Los Angeles Unified School District's 27 adult schools.

District officials, political analysts and community activists say anti-immigrant sentiment is helping to propel the staggering increase in attendance at the citizenship classes, which averaged only 300 students annually from 1990 to 1993.

"We didn't anticipate that amount" of enrollment, said Domingo Rodriguez, coordinator of the district's adult citizenship programs.

Other factors are also contributing to the dramatic increase, officials say:

* Increased citizenship awareness efforts by community action groups and the media began earlier this year. The district itself began a campaign in January that advertised not only citizenship classes, but also additional services such as fingerprinting and photo IDs.

* A new $70 fee was imposed to renew green cards every 10 years. It only costs $90 to apply for citizenship.

* Recent eligibility for U.S. naturalization among those who became legal residents through the 1986 Amnesty program.

But school officials and political analysts say the huge increase far exceeds what they were expecting from the amnesty program, which made those immigrants eligible for citizenship as early as last fall.

Of the total district enrollment, for example, 65% are non-amnesty, longtime California residents. And fear over immigrant bashing and a desire to gain a voice in American political affairs appear to be the primary reasons for enrolling in the classes.

"Even though they're legal and they're permanent residents and they can own property, they're still affected. They feel insecure," Rodriguez said. "The rhetoric is against \o7 illegals\f7 , but they still hear \o7 immigrant\f7 ."

When most students discuss anti-immigrant sentiment, they usually identify it with Gov. Pete Wilson's remarks about undocumented immigrants, school officials said.