Summary of the Law:
Proposition 187 was California's attempt to "Save our State", and according to Galindo (1997) it was passed in November of 1994. Essentially, the proposition was encouraging anti-immigration. The objective of the proposition was to create a screening process for citizens for two main focuses: to prohibit education for illegal children and to prohibit healthcare for illegal immigrants. While many people realized that some of the proponents mentioned in Proposition 187 were unconstitutional they were firm in that there concerns were purely economical. California could not afford to continue providing services for the nearly 1.7 illegal immigrants in their state (Migration News, 1994); of which 300,000-400,000 were children. California spends an estimated $3 billion annually to provide services for illegal immigrants residing in their state, with nearly half of that going to education (Migration News, 1994).
California's Governor, Pete Wilson, and Attorney General, Dan Lungren, believed that by denying these services it will discourage immigrants from illegally entering the United States, and California. They assured the public that this was intended to be an 'eligibility measure'. Proposition 187 was divided into five sections:
1. Prohibit public education to illegal children from Kindergarten through University. In 1995 it was amended to require the legal status of students and in 1996 it was amended again to require the legal status of parents as well.
2. In order to receive reimbursements for services provided, healthcare providers were required to verify the legal status of patients.
3. In order to receive any cash assistance or other state benefits you must prove your legal status.
4. All providers are required to report any suspected illegal immigrants. However, Lungren has said their will be no penalty for not reporting.
5. Making or using any false documents has now become a felony.
Many of these sections have sense been amended, and parts of the proposition have in fact been found unconstitutional.
When the voting results were calculated, 50 of the 58 counties in California were in support of Proposition 187. The eight counties that were not in favor were in the San Francisco Bay Area; President Clinton was also against Proposition 187.
Below are the statistics of California's population in 1994 and the Voting results of Proposition 187:
California's Population:
Caucasian: 57%
Hispanic: 25%
Asian: 9%
Black: 7%
After the voting some of the voters were questioned and below are some statistics on their answers (Migration News, 1994):
78% agreed that Proposition 187 'sends a message that needs to be sent'
51% agreed that they thought this would 'force the Federal government to face issue'
60% agreed that Proposition 187 would 'not solve the problem'
40% agreed that this would not help society because it was 'throwing children out of school'
Affects on Teachers
Teachers would have fewer students to teach, as some of them would have been pulled out of school
The state is clearly running out of resources to help support the schools
Affects on Students
Illegal children will be pulled out of school, hindering their success in the future
Many students will lose their family members to deportation
The resources students will receive will not be satisfactory
The health of students will become at risk
Affects on Education
Schools will lose funding resources because they will have fewer students
Teachers might begin to lose motivation
Students will lose their opportunity to learn in a culturally rich environment
My Resources
Galindo, R. (1997). Language Wars: The Ideological Dimensions of the Debates on Bilingual Education. Bilingual Research Journal, 21, 163-201.
CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 187
Summary of the Law:
Proposition 187 was California's attempt to "Save our State", and according to Galindo (1997) it was passed in November of 1994. Essentially, the proposition was encouraging anti-immigration. The objective of the proposition was to create a screening process for citizens for two main focuses: to prohibit education for illegal children and to prohibit healthcare for illegal immigrants. While many people realized that some of the proponents mentioned in Proposition 187 were unconstitutional they were firm in that there concerns were purely economical. California could not afford to continue providing services for the nearly 1.7 illegal immigrants in their state (Migration News, 1994); of which 300,000-400,000 were children. California spends an estimated $3 billion annually to provide services for illegal immigrants residing in their state, with nearly half of that going to education (Migration News, 1994).
California's Governor, Pete Wilson, and Attorney General, Dan Lungren, believed that by denying these services it will discourage immigrants from illegally entering the United States, and California. They assured the public that this was intended to be an 'eligibility measure'. Proposition 187 was divided into five sections:
1. Prohibit public education to illegal children from Kindergarten through University. In 1995 it was amended to require the legal status of students and in 1996 it was amended again to require the legal status of parents as well.
2. In order to receive reimbursements for services provided, healthcare providers were required to verify the legal status of patients.
3. In order to receive any cash assistance or other state benefits you must prove your legal status.
4. All providers are required to report any suspected illegal immigrants. However, Lungren has said their will be no penalty for not reporting.
5. Making or using any false documents has now become a felony.
Many of these sections have sense been amended, and parts of the proposition have in fact been found unconstitutional.
When the voting results were calculated, 50 of the 58 counties in California were in support of Proposition 187. The eight counties that were not in favor were in the San Francisco Bay Area; President Clinton was also against Proposition 187.
Below are the statistics of California's population in 1994 and the Voting results of Proposition 187:
California's Population:
Caucasian: 57%
Hispanic: 25%
Asian: 9%
Black: 7%
Voting Results in favor:
Caucasian: 64%
Hispanic: 31%
Asian: 57%
Black: 56%
After the voting some of the voters were questioned and below are some statistics on their answers (Migration News, 1994):
78% agreed that Proposition 187 'sends a message that needs to be sent'
51% agreed that they thought this would 'force the Federal government to face issue'
60% agreed that Proposition 187 would 'not solve the problem'
40% agreed that this would not help society because it was 'throwing children out of school'
Affects on Teachers
Teachers would have fewer students to teach, as some of them would have been pulled out of school
The state is clearly running out of resources to help support the schools
Affects on Students
Illegal children will be pulled out of school, hindering their success in the future
Many students will lose their family members to deportation
The resources students will receive will not be satisfactory
The health of students will become at risk
Affects on Education
Schools will lose funding resources because they will have fewer students
Teachers might begin to lose motivation
Students will lose their opportunity to learn in a culturally rich environment
Additional Sources with more Information
http://www.calvoter.org/archive/94general/easy/meas/187.html
http://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1675&context=facpub
My Resources
Galindo, R. (1997). Language Wars: The Ideological Dimensions of the Debates on Bilingual Education. Bilingual Research Journal, 21, 163-201.
(1994). Prop. 187 Approved in California. 1, 11. Retrieved June 19, 2015, from https://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=492