Proposition 187 was a California ballot initiative supported by then-Governor Pete Wilson and the state Republican Party.
The initiative came in response to an increase in unauthorized immigration from Mexico at the time. It would have prohibited undocumented immigrants from receiving a public education, non-emergency public health care, or any other public social service.
Additionally, it would have turned schools, health care facilities and their employees into de facto immigration agents, obligated to report the status of immigrants they encountered to federal authorities.
On Oct.16, 1994. about 70,000 protesters gathered at Los Angeles City Hall to show their opposition to Prop 187.
During the event at the consulate Wednesday, an emblematic photograph from the march was unveiled. It will be permanently displayed there along with a commemorative plaque.
The Consul General of Mexico, Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, and Mayor Karen Bass presided over the ceremony.
“The march of October 16, 1994 marked a profound awakening for the Mexican immigrant community and their U.S.-born children,” Gutierrez said. “It marked the kickoff of a decades-long campaign of mobilizing the Latino vote in order to transform California’s political and social landscape, the effects of which are still felt today.”
While Prop 187 did pass, it was ultimately stopped in the courts. It never took effect, with the exception of two penal code provisions that punished the forging, counterfeiting, distributing or selling of citizenship and immigration documents.
Prop 187 ultimately pushed many immigrants and their families to become U.S. citizens, get involved and vote.
“The measure mobilized thousands of people within the Mexican American and immigrant communities who saw it not only as an anti-immigrant effort, but rather as an anti-Mexican initiative that sought to create division and fear among potential voters,” Gutierrez said. “A distinctive feature of the photograph we are about to unveil today is the presence of many Mexican flags among those marching.”
Juan Jose Gutierrez, Executive Director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, spoke about the impact that the plaque and photograph will have on those who pass through the consulate.
“Millions of people come to the consulate every day. And in this area, you know, they receive various services, so they have to go through here. And as they’re waiting for their services, for their documents, there’s no question that they’re going to go by here,” he said. “They’re going to see the photo, they’re going to see the plaque, and they’re going to want to know, what the hell is that about, right? Why are people marching? And then they’re going to read the plaque, and they’re going to be reminded that 30 years ago, our community said enough.”
The impact of Prop 187 is still felt in California’s Mexican American community today.
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