That's right. More than one Mexican official has stated: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."
A majority of voters in 50 of California's 58 counties supported Prop. 187--the exceptions were eight San Francisco Bay Area counties. According to exit polls, 64 percent of whites, 57 percent of Asian-Americans, 56 percent of African-Americans, and 31 percent of Latinos voted in favor of Prop. 187. Of those voting in favor of Prop. 187, 78 percent agreed that "it sends a message that needs to be sent" and 51 percent agreed that "it will force the federal government to face the issue." Some 40 percent of voters in one exit poll said that they voted primarily because Prop. 187 was on the ballot.
Anti-U.S., anti-Trump is exactly like the National Republican-Democrat coalition against California Prop 187. Prop 187 passed 59 - 41 percent. The courts went to work for the National Republican-Democrat coalition and cancelled the 59-percent. Democrat Gov. Gray Davis killed off the 59-percent by refusing to pursue his -- as I understand it -- obligation of doing "for the people."
More from the study..
The Mexican government weighed in during the campaign for Prop 187 with Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari asserting that "Mexico affirms rejection of this xenophobic campaign, and will continue to act in defense of the labor and human rights of our migrant workers." (Salinas knew that Mexico did not have the means to use economic sanctions against the US or California to protest the approval of Prop. 187.)
Ernesto Zedillo, who follwed Salinas as Mexico's President "asserted during his November trip to Washington, DC that Mexico 'cannot object to legitimate enforcement of US laws,' but Mexico objects to 'enforcement [that] might lead to deprivation or violation of basic human rights.... [including] education and health care.' The Mexican government promised to contribute attorneys and funds to fight Proposition 187 in US courts."
President Salinas suggested a guestworker program Governor Wilson announced his support for a program to import Mexican guestworkers.
But the incoming Zedillo Administration knew that Mexico could not afford to close the wide open "safety valve on which several million of its citizens depend. Mexico [saw] no significant lessening of emigration pressures during the 1990s." [IOW: Mexico needed to continue unloading millions of its citizens onto the U.S.]
The return of a guestworker program had little chance.
But Prop 187 passage did spark action..
Leaders of several Central American countries [told] President Clinton that their economies must grow faster in order to stem the flow of illegal immigrants to the north. Central American leaders [began] an intensive lobbying effort to prevent the return of their citizens after the passage of Prop. 187 and the threat of not renewing temporary protected status for El Salvadorans.
So the Administration, the courts, the legislative branch saying "F-you Americans!" is nothing new..
the autoimmune disease of the body politic appeared decades ago.. it's just been found to be caused by unstable radicals occupying buildings on the Beltway campus and something called crony capitalism. Now on the cure to save the life of the United States of America.
I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that it took years to get the initial federal court to act on the case. IIRC it was the Wilson administration somehow forcing the action..
In Nov. 1997: "Proposition 187, as drafted, is not constitutional on its face," Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer declared in a 32-page opinion.
A year later Gray Davis was elected and IIRC one of his first acts was to fly off to Mexico City and later let it be clear that he would NOT appeal Pfaelzer's decision.
That was a factor in his removal from office. It can be done!
But all we got for out efforts was a Schwarzenkennedy.