FEDERAL JUDGE OKAYS SETTLEMENT ON CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 187

The same judge that five years ago ruled that most portions of Proposition 187 were unconstitutional has approved a settlement that may signal the end of litigation on the law.  However, advocates on both sides of the issue are still not satisfied with the outcome.

Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer originally issued an injunction against enforcement of Prop 187 in 1994, and then in 1997 ruled that the law conflicted with exclusive federal control over immigration.  If it had been enforced, the law would have denied public education, non-emergency healthcare and other social services to undocumented immigrants.  The law also required public employees to report people they suspected of being in the U.S. without permission to authorities.

In July, Gov. Gray Davis agreed that the state would not enforce the few provisions of the law that were not struck down, most of which dealt with document fraud.  It is this agreement that Judge Pfaelzer has just approved. 

Supporters of Prop 187 argue that this outcome has frustrated the will of those who voted for the measure, and they plan on appealing the decision.  On the other hand, an attorney who represented undocumented children in one of the challenges to the law is also not satisfied.  He would prefer seeing the issues decided on their merits rather than by court order, and has said he would appeal to the Supreme Court to obtain a decision on the merits.

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