The debate over illegal immigration in California reached a boiling point 25 years ago. The clash was crystalized in the battle over Proposition 187, a ballot measure that sought to bar the state’s undocumented population from accessing public benefits, among other things. Billions in taxpayer money, proponents argued, would be saved by 187. Opponents called it “anti-immigrant.”
You can listen to this special, which was broadcast on November 6, 2019 here:
https://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2019/10/30/65043/statewide-call-in-special-proposition-187-25-years/
On Nov. 8, 1994, Californian voters approved the measure. But a court ruling blocked it from going into effect.
How did 187 change CA politics? How significant was its impact? And how did it change the lives of Californians?
KPCC’s Larry Mantle hosted an hour long, statewide call-in show with NPR affiliates Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, Valley Public Radio in the Central Valley, and KPBS in San Diego to explore these questions and more.
GUESTS:
Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, Democratic California State Senator representing Senate District 24, which includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Highland Park, and Los Feliz; she tweets at @MariaEDurazo
Fernando Guerra, professor of Political Science and Chicana/o Latina/o Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles
Gloria Molina, former CA State Assemblywoman serving the 56th District, which encompasses the Imperial Valley and parts of the Coachella Valley; former Los Angeles City Councilwoman; former member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; first Chicana elected to the California State Assembly; she tweets at @GloriaMolina1
Sean Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Ronald Reagan and H.W. Bush
TWITTER HANDLE: #25After187