Californians voted overwhelmingly to pass Prop 187, which would have denied welfare benefits to illegals and their children, but it was overturned by the courts.
Don't blame the citizens. They tried to do the right thing.
As for our illustrious Governor Rick Perry, he did little to nothing to influence our legislature to pass (or even bring to the floor) any number of strong anti-illegal immigration bills in the last (and previous) legislative session. Neither did his RINO Lt. Governor, David Dewhurst. All of those bills were allowed to die behind closed doors - intentionally KILLED by their henchman, Joe Straus.
The 1994 Prop 187 was the high water mark of conservatism in California, However the voters then turned leftward and by 1999 the Democratic Governor Gray Davis stopped all appeals and got away with it. You can’t be satisfied with an argument that cites a law that foundered in a liberal due to a reversal of leadership to the Democrats.
In contrast, Since 1995 the following states have had similar ballot initiatives or laws passed: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma and Texas
You can’t deny that the Californians have voted left since the late 90s and let the liberal legislature run amuck, leading to actual bankruptcies of municipalities and unsustainable programs such as the high speed rail project and the restraint of development by the ecology lobby.
Meanwhile, Texas does what it can, even challenging the EPA to a showdown on energy development.