THE RISE AND FALL OF CALIFORNIA’S ANTI-ILLEGAL-IMMIGRATION LAW
July 1986
Immigration and Naturalization Service Western region chief Harold Ezell helps to start Americans for Border Control, the nation’s first citizens group founded to specifically fight illegal immigration. Members of the Orange County-based group attend INS raids in barrios to cheer on immigration agents with signs that say “Don’t Let the USA Become a Third World Nation.”
Early 1992
Former Anaheim Police Department employee Barbara Coe and Bill King, a former Border Patrol agent, start Citizens for Action Now in Orange County to fight illegal immigration. Later, the two would create the California Coalition for Immigration Reform, the main grassroots organization behind what would become Proposition 187.
Summer 1993
Tustin accountant Ron Prince stands in front of a supermarket in Orange County with a petition that asks, “Do you believe illegal immigration is a problem in California?” After getting hundreds of signatures, he talks to husband-and-wife political consultant team Barbara and Bob Kiley of Yorba Linda, who think his idea for a proposition that would target illegal immigrants just might work.
Oct. 5, 1993
At the members-only Center Club in Costa Mesa, the Kileys and Prince meet with Ezell, Nelson, Coe and King to write what would become Proposition 187. They decide to name their campaign “Save Our State” after four rounds of margaritas at an El Torito in Orange.
May 13, 1994 June 23, 1994
The secretary of state announces that the Save Our State initiative has qualified for the November ballot. It’ll be listed as Proposition 187.
July 1994
Californians United Against Proposition 187 hold a conference at Fresno State attended by hundreds of Latino high schoolers and college students. They are debriefed on 187 and urged to organize against it.
Sept. 17, 1994
At the California GOP convention in San Diego, Pete Wilson officially endorses Proposition 187.
Oct. 16, 1994
More than 70,000 protesters march on L.A. City Hall against Proposition 187 — the largest protests Los Angeles has seen since the Vietnam War. But the waving of Mexican flags by many attendees provokes a backlash by liberals and conservatives alike.
Oct. 14 - Nov. 7
Middle and high school students across California walk out to protest Proposition 187 in defiance of school administrators and politicians who urge them to stay in class. The biggest day is Nov. 2, when over 10,000 students across Southern California stage coordinated protests.
Nov. 8
California voters approve Proposition 187 by a 59% to 41% margin.
Nov. 9
Eight lawsuits filed in federal and state courts claim Proposition 187 is unconstitutional.
Nov. 11, 1994
U.S. District Judge Matthew Byrne Jr. issues a temporary restraining order on Proposition 187 until it’s heard by federal Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer.
Nov. 20, 1995
Judge Pfaelzer throws out most of Proposition 187.
Aug. 22, 1996
President Clinton signs a sweeping welfare reform bill that also cuts off federal health and social aid to both legal and illegal immigrants — both key components of Proposition 187.
Nov. 14, 1997
Judge Pfaelzer rules that Proposition 187 is unconstitutional, arguing that Clinton’s welfare bill supersedes 187. The state of California appeals.
March 13, 1998
Pfaelzer puts a permanent injunction on Proposition 187 as California’s appeal of the case stalls in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
July 29, 1999
Gov. Gray Davis reaches an agreement with anti-187 activists in which he agrees not to continue the state’s appeal. It kills Proposition 187 for good.
Sept. 15, 2014
Gov. Jerry Brown repeals the unenforceable sections.
June 23, 2015
The state Senate passes a resolution that blasts Wilson for his “scathing campaign against undocumented parents and their children” during his 1994 reelection bid and “expressly acknowledges the harm caused to Californians through passage of Proposition 187.” Behind the push is President Pro Tem Kevin de León, one of the main organizers behind the massive 1994 march on L.A. City Hall.