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California Proposition 187 (also known as the ''Save Our State'' (SOS) initiative) was a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal aliens from using non-emergency health care, public education, and other services in the State of California. Voters passed the proposed law as a referendum in November 1994. The law was challenged in a legal suit and found unconstitutional by a federal district court. In 1999, Governor Gray Davis halted state appeals of this ruling. Passage of Proposition 187 reflected state residents' concerns about illegal immigration into the United States. Opponents believed the law was discriminatory against illegal immigrants of Hispanic or Asian origin; supporters maintained that their concerns were economic: that the state could not afford to provide social services for so many illegal residents. ==Background and passage== In 1994, California had an estimated 1.3 million illegal immigrants, which included approximately 308,000 illegal alien children. Residents were increasingly concerned about the costs of providing services to the families of illegal immigrants.〔(Margolis, Jeffrey R. "Closing the Doors to the Land of Opportunity: The Constitutional Controversy Surrounding Proposition 187" ), ''The University of Miami Inter-American Law Review,'' Vol 26, No. 2: pp. 368-369〕 The Republican assemblyman Dick Mountjoy of Monrovia introduced Proposition 187 to the state legislature as the "Save Our State" (SOS) initiative. It gained enough signatures to be placed on the ballot as a referendum vote during the general election on November 8, 1994. Originally one of several immigration reform bills placed before the California legislature in the early 1990s, polls surveying community responses showed that Proposition 187 began with widespread support - a 37-point lead in July 1994, and 62-29% lead among likely voters by September 1994. Proponents of the bill estimated that California spent $3 billion per year on services for illegal immigrants, about half of which provided education to children of illegal immigrants.〔Margolis, p. 369〕 Governor Pete Wilson, a Republican, was a prominent supporter of Proposition 187, which ultimately became a key issue during his 1994 re-election campaign against Democratic opponent Kathleen Brown. After facing record low approval ratings during his first term, Wilson trailed Brown in opinion polls by more than 20% early during the gubernatorial campaign. Commentators considered his aggressive support of the Proposition 187 as crucial to his re-election. In the days leading up to the election, Wilson said that he would require all state and local government employees to report suspected illegal immigrants to the Attorney General's Office if Proposition 187 passed. State Attorney General Dan Lungren, also running for re-election, agreed to enforce emergency regulations to implement the law immediately after the election. During the United States Senate election in California, 1994 campaign, the incumbent Senator Dianne Feinstein and Republican challenger Michael Huffington both adopted tough policies against illegal immigration. The candidates each revealed that they had previously hired illegal immigrants for housekeeping and childcare. Unlike Feinstein, Huffington had hired an illegal housekeeper after the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it illegal to knowingly hire illegal immigrants. Feinstein was narrowly re-elected.〔Martin, Philip. "(Proposition 187 in California" ), ''International Migration Review,'' Vol 29, No. 1: pp. 258-259〕 President Bill Clinton urged Californians to reject Proposition 187 as an impediment to federal policy on immigration. After admitting that "it is not wrong for you () to want to reduce illegal immigration," Clinton asked voters to allow the federal government to "keep working on what we're doing."〔 In the days leading up to the referendum vote, Latino students organized large protests of Proposition 187 across the state, including a mass boycott of high schools. Their protests often included waving the Mexican flag, a controversial symbol that was described by opponents as counterproductive.〔 On November 8, 1994, California voters approved the proposition by a wide margin: 59% to 41%.〔("1994 General election results" ), Save Our State (SOS) Website〕 According to the ''Los Angeles Times'' exit polls, 63% of white (non-Hispanic) voters and 23% of Latino voters voted for Proposition 187; African-American and ethnic Asian voters split their voting equally for and against the law. Although non-Hispanic whites comprised 57% of California's population at the time, they comprised 81% of voters in the 1994 general election. Latinos totaled 8% of voters, although they comprised 26% of the state's population. While 78% of Republicans and 62% of Independents voted for the initiative, Democratic voters opposed the measure by 64%.〔(California Opinion Index: "A summary analysis of Voting in the 1994 General Election" ), Field Poll Online〕 Section 1 of Proposition 187 provides this introduction:
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