This research paper documents and argues the merits of Proposition 187 (187), a ballot initiative which was approved by California voters in November, 1994. The implementation of 187 has been stayed, pending a final resolution of legal challenges to its constitutionality and validity which will ultimately be decided by the United States Supreme Court and courts in California. If 187 is held to be valid, substantial savings will accrue to the State of California in the form of reduced public costs of dealing with illegal immigrants. Even if 187 is struck down, its passage has served a useful purpose by focusing public debate on the inequitable burdens placed on California and other border states due to the failure of the federal government to cope effectively with the problem of illegal immigration.
Proposition 187, which also became known as the 'Save Our State' ballot initiative, soared across the political landscape of California and the nation in the fall of 1994 like a meteor. Roundly denounced by most mainstream liberal and Democratic politicians, 187 was given little chance of passage by media pundits. Ross says that "opponents [of 187] outspent supporters by more than two-to-one" (54). The pro-187 campaign was given a major boost when it was supported by Governor Pete Wilson. Its pros and cons were debated nationally. The initiative received the support of major conservative leaders such as Pat Buchanan and was rejected by others such as Bill Bennett and Jack Kemp (Buckley 78). It served as the basis for a formal protest to the State Department by the Mexican government and demonstrations in Mexico and in major California cities. According to the Economist, the spectacle of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans waving the Mexican flag at a downtown Los Angeles anti-187 rally helped generate last minute support for 187 which passed by a decisive margin (59 to 41 percent (Heading north 29). Six weeks later or on December ...