CALIFORNIANS APPROVE MAJOR ANTI-IMMIGRANT REFERENDUM AS NATIONAL DEBATE ON IMMIGRATION RAGES

In the recent November 8th national election, California voters approved by a 59 to 41 margin Proposition 187. The measure would bar undocumented aliens from receiving government-funded education, health and social services. The new law calls for state-employed education, health care and social service professionals to verify the legal status of anyone suspected of being undocumented and report all suspected of being undocumented to the INS.

Though Proposition 187 only affects California, the debate in that state over the measure received considerable national attention. The referendum was pushed heavily by Governor Pete Wilson during his reelection race. Michael Huffington, the Republican opponent of Senator Diane Feinstein, made Proposition 187 one of his most important issues even after it was revealed that Huffington had employed an undocumented alien as a worker in his home.

Upon approval of the referendum, Governor Wilson moved immediately to enforce the new law. He issued an executive order barring undocumented workers from receiving state-supported prenatal care and from being admitted to long-term nursing home programs.

The measure has been legally challenged by a number of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, various immigrants rights organizations and school boards in Los Angeles and San Francisco. A San Francisco judge, citing an earlier U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling on the issue, issued a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of the new law with respect to education. The measure is also being ignored by many education and health care officials who have publicly stated there intention to refuse to enforce it.

While the measure's backers promoted Proposition 187 as a tool to improve the California economy, many feel that the opposite could occur. California could potentially lose up to in federal aid as a result of the measure's potential conflict with federal privacy laws. A number of organizations are also calling for boycotts of California and its products.