After three years of battling, opponents of California’s controversial Proposition 187 were successful in arguing in court that the measure is unconstitutional. A federal District Court judge also ruled that the law violates last year’s welfare reform law. The law has been temporarily enjoined for nearly three years as the case has been awaiting a decision.
The law, passed in a 1994 ballot referendum, bars illegal immigrants in California from receiving publicly funded benefits such as education, social services and health care. The law also requires public employees in local areas to turn in suspected illegal immigrants to the INS.
Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer held in a 32 page opinion that the measure is unconstitutional on its face. The judge found that Proposition 187 is a “scheme” designed to regulate immigration in California. The Constitution mandates that immigration law is the exclusive domain of the federal government.
Lawyers on both sides expect the judge to soon issue a permanent injunction on enforcement of the law to replace the temporary order. The case is next expected to be heard by the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then in the US Supreme Court, possibly in time for next year’s term.
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