It is believed by many that the nation's current crisis of illegal immigration had its way paved by the ruling of one judge, Mariana R. Pflaezer, in California in 1997. It is also believed that politicians of the time allowed it to happen due to their inaction.

I post these articles now and again for the purpose of learning through the mistakes of history.

http://www.ccir.net/REFERENCE/187-History.html

History of Proposition 187

Prop 187 was passed by the voters on Nov. 8, 1994 to deny public benefits to illegal aliens in California.

The next day several lawsuits were filed in California state court (Mexican-American Legal Defense/Education Fund (MALDEF), League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC), ACLU, and others.

On Nov. 11, 1994 a "temporary restraining order (TRO)" was issued by Federal Judge Matthew Byrne (it was filed in Federal Judge Marianna Pfaelzer's court, but she was out (vacation?), so Byrne did the TRO.

An answer was filed by Attorney General Dan Lungren in state court.

Judge Pfaelzer came back and issued a permanent injunction pending trial. Her rationale was essentially a case in Texas in the 1980's (Plyler v. Doe). Texas tried to deny public education to illegal aliens. The Supreme Court ruled for the illegals, based on two pillars:

1) there were supposedly not enough illegal aliens students in Texas public schools to be a financial burden to Texas, and

2) Congress was contemplating an amnesty for illegal aliens in the U.S. (that occurred in 1986), and illegal alien students who were to be made legal would not be educated. Neither of those conditions existed in 1994.

The cases were consolidated into Judge Pfaelzer's court in 1995.

There were hearings, filings, hearings, filings ...

In 1996 California (Att'y Gen. Dan Lungren) said that Prop 187 was not in conflict with federal law.

In September 1996 federal immigration law was enacted, and in 1997 Lungren asked Judge Pfaelzer for a summary dismissal. (The 1996 federal law included Sec. 133 - that local law enforcement can cooperate with the INS)

Judge Pfaelzer said NO to summary dismissal and ruled for plaintiffs; Lungren said he'll appeal.

Lungren appealed in 9th District Circuit Court in late 1997. FOR SIX MONTHS LUNGREN TOOK NO ACTION - IT SAT THERE. HE SHOULD HAVE MOVED THE CASE ALONG!

Then came the gubernatorial campaign of 1998, and Gray Davis was elected in November. The appeal process was still sitting silently in court because Lungren had not moved it along.

Davis was elected. The plaintiffs requested "mediation" in the 9th District Court, the court agreed to "mediation".

We know what happened then - Davis (who vehemently opposed Prop 187) "represented" FOR Prop 187. Neither the proponent of Prop 187 nor anyone else who co-sponsored Prop 187 was allowed in the bogus "mediation".

Governor Davis refused to allow the appeal to proceed and dropped the appeal, essentially KILLING PROP 187 against the will of the voters. This after having promised to support the appeal during his campaign.

Even the most vocal plaintiffs against Prop 187 said they were afraid that if it went to the U.S. Supreme Court it would be held to be constitutional, reversing Plyler v. Doe.



http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/lingu ... /LAT23.htm

Los Angeles Times
Saturday, November 15, 1997

Prop. 187 Found Unconstitutional by Federal Judge
Law: Decision means anti-illegal immigration measure won't be implemented, barring appeal. But initiative's supporters condemn outcome, plan plea to higher court.
By PATRICK J. MCDONNELL, Times Staff Writer

A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Friday that Proposition 187, the divisive 1994 ballot initiative targeting illegal immigrants, violates both the Constitution and last year's sweeping congressional overhaul of welfare law.
The ruling effectively means that, barring a successful appeal, the controversial measure that focused attention nationwide on the problem of illegal immigration will never be fully implemented.
"Proposition 187, as drafted, is not constitutional on its face," Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer declared in a 32-page opinion.
Although observers had long anticipated the finding, much of the judge's decision turned on a relatively new law--last year's sweeping congressional reform of the federal welfare system, known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Proposition 187 served as a catalyst for many of that law's far-reaching restrictions on benefits for immigrants, those here legally as well as illegal residents.
The 1996 welfare statute, the judge ruled, "serves to reinforce" her prior finding that Proposition 187 is a "scheme" designed to regulate immigration, an exclusively federal domain. State officials seeking to restrict immigrant access to benefits must live by the guidelines outlined in the new federal law, she ruled.
"California is powerless to enact its own legislative scheme to regulate immigration," Pfaelzer said. "It is likewise powerless to enact its own legislative scheme to regulate alien access to public benefits."
The judge cited as unlawful the initiative's major sections--those barring illegal immigrants from receiving publicly funded education, social services and health care--along with provisions mandating that local law enforcement authorities, school administrators, social workers and health care aides turn in suspected illegal immigrants.
However, the judge did let stand two less controversial sections that establish state criminal penalties for the manufacture and use of false documents to conceal immigration status.
The judge requested that attorneys submit additional motions by Nov. 28, but lawyers on both sides of the issue said the decision clearly signals that she will soon issue a permanent injunction to replace the existing temporary ban. The final order could come by the end of the year, attorneys said.
At that point, the battle surrounding the disputed measure will move to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where Gov. Pete Wilson and other Proposition 187 supporters are expected to seek a rebuke of Pfaelzer's ruling. Most expect the matter to end up in the Supreme Court, possibly as soon as next fall.
"This is the tombstone for Proposition 187," said Mark Rosenbaum of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, co-counsel in the case against the initiative.
Although they condemned the judge's ruling, proponents of Proposition 187 were relieved that the matter finally seemed to be leaving the courtroom of Pfaelzer, whom Proposition 187 supporters have excoriated as a biased jurist who sat on the case for more than three years in a delaying tactic. Wilson even took the unusual step of filing papers with the U.S. Court of Appeals this week demanding that the judge take action--a move that anti-187 activists called a publicity stunt.
"We're free at last!" exclaimed Ron Prince, the Orange County accountant who rose to national prominence as a co-author of Proposition 187 and an advocate of tighter controls on illegal immigration.
But he, Wilson, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren and other supporters of the ballot initiative were highly critical of Pfaelzer's decision to invoke last year's federal welfare overhaul as a major rationale for throwing out Proposition 187. California authorities had argued the exact opposite: that Proposition 187 was consistent with the federal legislation.
The passage of the welfare law last year prompted some in the governor's office to predict that it opened the way for the implementation of much of Proposition 187.
"I find that Judge Pfaelzer's interpretation of Congress' intent when drafting the federal welfare law defies all logic," said Lungren, a former ranking House Republican on immigration matters.
Added Wilson: "Her analysis of Proposition 187 is as flawed and error-prone as the 1962 New York Mets. We look forward to this measure going to a higher court that has a better understanding of the law." But those fighting the ballot measure said the judge's ruling was on target and would probably resist arguments on appeal.
"The judge has vindicated the principle that we can't have 50 immigration policies, we can only have one," said Thomas Saenz, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Other opponents delighted in the irony of Pfaelzer using the federal welfare overhaul--a law championed by Wilson and Republican leaders--as a legal battering ram against Proposition 187, which also had strong GOP backing.
"Gov. Wilson has been hoisted on his own petard," said Peter Schey of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.
Proposition 187 differs substantially from the new federal welfare law passed last year. The California measure is more restrictive in some respects and less stringent in others.
A major difference involves education. Proposition 187 would have barred illegal immigrants from attending public schools, in clear violation of the Supreme Court's landmark 1982 Plyler vs. Doe decision. The federal law contained no such ban.
In other arenas, Proposition 187 would have made illegal immigrants ineligible for all publicly funded, nonemergency medical treatment. The federal welfare law allows access to immunizations and treatment of infectious diseases. Also, the federal law does not mandate that local health care workers, educators and police inform on suspected illegal immigrants.
But, in some ways, the federal welfare law went further. Proposition 187 focused only on illegal immigrants, while the new federal statute makes many legal noncitizens ineligible for a host of public benefits, including disability payments and food stamps. And the federal law generally bars state and local governments from providing nonemergency aid to "not qualified" noncitizens--a broad category that encompasses both illegal immigrants and many categories of temporary legal residents.
Responding to that federal mandate, the Wilson administration is proceeding with new rules that will eventually make illegal immigrants ineligible for hundreds of state services, from prenatal care to business contracts to fishing licenses. Once in place, those restrictions may represent one of the lasting legacies of Proposition 187, which arose from the suburbs of Los Angeles at a time when massive immigration, especially from Mexico and Central America, was drastically altering the region's demographic makeup.
The movement was born in 1993 as the Save Our State campaign, garnering support at the grass-roots level and receiving technical assistance from a former commissioner and Western states chief for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. But Proposition 187 did not take off in the public consciousness until the Republican Party pumped money into a flagging signature-gathering effort and Wilson, then in the midst of what seemed a tough reelection effort, made it a keystone of his campaign.
Soon, Proposition 187 had galvanized voters statewide and had gained more notoriety outside the state than any California ballot initiative since the tax-cutting Proposition 13. Backers framed the movement as a kind of salvation from rampant illegal immigration, while critics denounced it as a racist effort to scapegoat immigrants, especially Latinos. Three weeks before the election, more than 70,000 opponents, mostly Latinos, marched through downtown Los Angeles in one of the largest protests in city history.
On Nov. 8, 1994, California voters approved the ballot measure by 59% to 41%, with substantial support from virtually all groups except for Latinos and Jews. Federal judges soon blocked its implementation. Subsequent efforts to launch copycat measures in Florida, Arizona and Washington state never got off the ground, but the message of Proposition 187 reverberated in 1996 in Congress, where lawmakers passed several laws cracking down on illegal immigrants and their access to public benefits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposition_187

I haven't posted the atricle from Wikipedia, but if you read it, note the comment from State Senator Art Torres who referred to it as "the last gasp of White America in California."
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