The Message of Proposition 187

Abstract

The latest earthquake out of California is political, not seismic. The reverberations of Proposition 187 the anti-illegal immigrant initiative on the state's November 1994 ballot, have already registered high on the Richter scales in state capitals and Washington, where politicians see that Pete Wilson's firm identification with Proposition 187 was largely responsible for his sweeping re-election victory. The law's aftershocks are even unsettling Europe, where leaders in almost every country face their own immigration crises, desperately seek solutions, and often look to U.S. experience for guidance.