Proposition 187

California's Proposition 187 was a proposition introduced in 1994 to disallow social services, public education, and health care to illegal immigrants. Various citizens were concerned about immigration's economic costs and the erosion of what they considered the nation's traditional culture. Some feared that immigrants used services, like welfare and unemployment benefits, more habitually than did natives. Some argued that the new wave of immigrants were less skilled and, therefore, became a liability for the government. Many people and many organizations were involved in bringing this proposition to the voters. Dana Rohrabacher claimed to be the author, and the California Coalition [Page 557]for Immigration Reform (CCIR) called itself the coauthor. Assembly member Dick Mountjoy, a Republican from Monrovia, California, introduced the proposition as the Save Our State initiative.

Proposition 187 included several additions to the law, which fell into two categories. First, law enforcement agents were empowered to investigate the immigration status of arrested individuals in the state. If the agent found evidence of illegality, this must be reported to the attorney general of California and to the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Local governments were forbidden from doing anything to spoil the fulfillment of this requirement. The attorney general was required to keep records on all such cases. The attorney general was also required to make the records accessible to any other government body that wished to inspect them.

Second, individuals could not obtain public benefits until they had established their legal right to reside in the country. If anyone requested benefits and was suspected by government agents of being illegal, those agents had to report their suspicions to the enforcement authorities in writing. Emergency medical care was exempt because federal law requires it. Primary and secondary education were unequivocally included, as well as nonemergency medical benefits.

Governor Pete Wilson was a prominent supporter of Proposition 187. Opponents included State Senator Art Torres and a majority of minorities. The campaigns on both sides of the issue were marked by racially divisive rhetoric. The proposition came before voters in the November 8, 1994, general election, in which it received 59 percent of the vote. Proposition 187 became law the next day. A majority of Latinos, Asians, and African Americans voted against it. The majority of the votes came from whites. While its advocates were generally political conservatives, some liberals also favored it. Some liberals believed that making life more difficult for illegal immigrants would result in fewer of them entering the state. They hoped this would create a labor shortage, driving up wages for the lowest-paid workers. Many families who belonged to labor unions supported this measure based on this argument.

The law's constitutionality was challenged in many cases. On November 11, 1994, a temporary restraining order was filed in federal Judge Marianna Pfaelzer's court, but she was out of court. Federal Judge Matthew Byrne issued a temporary restraining order against it on grounds that it exceeded state authority in the federal realm of immigration.

Judge Pfaelzer issued a permanent injunction pending trial. Her rationale was based essentially on a case tried in Texas in the 1980s, Plyler v. Doe, which addressed the issue of refusing public education to illegal aliens. The Supreme Court ruled for the illegal aliens based on two principles. The first principle was that Texas did not have enough illegal alien students in the public school system to cause a financial burden to the state. The second principle was that Congress was contemplating amnesty for illegal aliens in the United States. When the amnesty was granted, those who had been illegal alien students before the amnesty would no longer be eligible for free public education.

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