Proposition 187: An Overview
Proposition 187 was the defining act that made 1995 into an action-packed year for immigration issues. In due course, the Supreme Court will decide whether or not Prop 187 is constitutional. As the Court ruled in 1982 (Plyer v. Doe) against a Texas law that would have forced out-of-status immigrant children to pay for primary education, there's no telling how today's conservative Supreme Court might rule on Prop 187. However even if it is defeated in the courts, much of the harm has already been done. While anti- immigrant sentiment in the US has been gradually building for some time, Prop 187 gave immigration rivals countrywide a boost of confidence, encouraging politicians and media analysts to attack and scapegoat immigrants, and in particular Latinos. Statements that would seem absolutely disgraceful such as California governor Pete Wilson's insistence that the first aspect of Prop 187 needing immediate enforcement passed almost disregarded in this climate of all-out viciousness.
Although there were also a number of incidents of police brutality and vigilante violence against immigrants and native-born Latinos during the period covered there have been no statistics to show whether such violence actually increased after Prop 187's passage. There was definitely unreliable evidence of an increase in daily harassment of Latinos in California: many were asked to present proof of legal residence while shopping, dining or carrying out other similar activities. This persecution was clearly outside the sphere of what Prop 187 would have required, even if it had not been blocked by court order. Nevertheless the message of Prop 187 “If you’re ‘illegal,’ gets out of our country!" -- so encouraged anti-immigrant forces that they felt any action against apparent out-of-status immigrants was justified.
Supporters of Prop 187 and other opponents of immigration maintain that their opposition toward immigrants is not based on racism..........
