California Proposition 187 (1994) - Background and Passage

Background and Passage

In 1994, California had an estimated 1.3 million undocumented immigrants, which included approximately 308,000 illegal alien children. Legal residents were increasingly concerned about the costs of providing services to the families of undocumented immigrants.

The Republican assemblyman Dick Mountjoy of Monrovia introduced Proposition 187 to the state legislature as the "Save Our State" (SOS) initiative. It gained enough signatures to be placed on the ballot as a referendum vote during the general election on November 8, 1994. Originally one of several immigration reform bills placed before the California legislature in the early 1990s, polls surveying community responses showed that Proposition 187 began with widespread support - a 37-point lead in July 1994, and 62-29 percent lead among likely voters by September 1994. Proponents of the bill estimated that California spent $3 billion per year on services for undocumented immigrants, about half of which provided education to children of undocumented immigrants.

Governor Pete Wilson, a Republican, was a prominent supporter of Proposition 187, which ultimately became a key issue during his 1994 re-election campaign against Democratic opponent Kathleen Brown. After facing record low approval ratings during his first term, Wilson trailed Brown in opinion polls by more than 20% early during the gubernatorial campaign. Commentators considered his aggressive support of the Proposition 187 as crucial to his re-election.

In the days leading up to the election, Wilson said that he would require all state and local government employees to report suspected undocumented immigrants to the Attorney General's Office if Proposition 187 passed. State Attorney General Dan Lungren, also running for re-election, agreed to enforce emergency regulations to implement the law immediately after the election.

During the United States Senate election in California, 1994 campaign, the incumbent Senator Diane Feinstein and Republican challenger Michael Huffington both adopted tough policies against illegal immigration. The candidates each revealed that they had previously hired undocumented immigrants for housekeeping and childcare. Unlike Feinstein, Huffington had hired an illegal housekeeper after the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it illegal to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. Feinstein was narrowly re-elected.

President Bill Clinton urged Californians to reject Proposition 187 as an impediment to federal policy on immigration. After admitting that "it is not wrong for you to want to reduce illegal immigration," Clinton asked voters to allow the federal government to "keep working on what we're doing."

In the days leading up to the referendum vote, Latino students organized large protests of Proposition 187 across the state, including a mass boycott of high schools. Their protests often included waving the Mexican flag, a controversial symbol that was described by opponents as counterproductive.

On November 8, 1994, California voters approved the proposition by a wide margin: 59 percent to 41 percent. According to the Los Angeles Times exit polls, 63 percent of ethnic European voters and 23 percent of Latino voters voted for Proposition 187; African-American and ethnic Asian voters split their voting equally for and against the law. Although ethnic Europeans comprised 57% of California's population at the time, they comprised 81% of voters in the 1994 general election. Latinos totaled 8% of voters, although they comprised 26% of the state's population.

While 78 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Independents voted for the initiative, Democratic voters opposed the measure by 64 percent.

Section 1 of Proposition 187 provides this introduction:

The People of California find and declare as follows: That they have suffered and are suffering economic hardship caused by the presence of undocumented immigrants in this state. That they have suffered and are suffering personal injury and damage caused by the criminal conduct of undocumented immigrants in this state. That they have a right to the protection of their government from any person or persons entering this country unlawfully.