[SOUNDS OF VEHICLE DOORS OPENING] [SIREN PULSES] [VEHICLE DOORS SHUT] ANNOUNCER ON COMMERCIAL: IT'S HOW MOST OF US GOT HERE. IT'S HOW THIS COUNTRY WAS BUILT. AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP IS A TREASURE BEYOND MEASURE. BUT NOW THE RULES ARE BEING BROKEN. THERE'S A RIGHT WAY, AND THERE'S A WRONG WAY. THEY KEEP COMING, 2 MILLION ILLEGALS IN CALIFORNIA. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WON'T STOP THEM AT THE BORDER, YET REQUIRES US TO PAY BILLIONS TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. MAN ON VIDEO: WE HAVE AN IMMIGRATION POLICY, WHICH WE SUPPORT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. MAN 2 ON VIDEO: WE'RE GETTING ABUSED BY ALIENS. THEY'RE USING OUR SYSTEM AGAINST US. MAN 3 ON VIDEO: HE IS CHEATING ON THE SYSTEM. FIRST MAN ON VIDEO: PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. MAN 4 ON VIDEO: ENTERING OUR STATE WITHOUT PERMISSION, THEN TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR BENEFITS HERE THAT WE PROVIDE FOR CITIZENS. FIRST MAN ON VIDEO: THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IS A SANCTUARY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. GLENN SPENCER: THERE ARE 4.4 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ALONE. THAT'S INCREDIBLE. PETE WILSON: WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO EDUCATE EVERY POOR CHILD FROM EVERY FOREIGN COUNTRY. MAN 5 ON VIDEO: WHAT TRUE AMERICANS WOULD DO IS CLOSE THE BORDER IMMEDIATELY. FIRST MAN ON VIDEO: WE WILL PASS A LAW OURSELVES, AND WE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM. WILSON: 187 NOT ONLY IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEND A MESSAGE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING MUCH MORE. FIRST MAN ON VIDEO: WE HAVE TO PASS THIS INITIATIVE, AND WE HAVE TO HAVE IT NOW. PETE WILSON: FOR CALIFORNIANS WHO WORK HARD, PAY TAXES, AND OBEY THE LAWS, I'M SUING TO FORCE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL THE BORDER. AND I'M WORKING TO DENY STATE SERVICES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. [SINE WAVE TONE] [CLICK] [ELECTRICAL HUM] ANNOUNCER: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION COMMUNITY INITIATIVES FUND; LA PLAZA DE CULTURA Y ARTES EASTSIDE ARTS INITIATIVE; WEINGART FOUNDATION; AND THE ELI AND EDYTHE BROAD FOUNDATION. REPORTER: THE 45 BORDER PATROL AGENTS PULLED FROM IMPERIAL VALLEY AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY WERE ASSISTED BY LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AS WELL... NARRATOR: 1994. A REVOLT WAS GROWING OVER WHO WAS WELCOME IN CALIFORNIA AND WHO WAS NOT. IT BECAME THE MOST ANTI-IMMIGRANT ENVIRONMENT IN DECADES. [VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER WHIRRS] [REWIND CHATTER] NARRATOR: THIS SITUATION EMERGED A FEW YEARS AFTER PASSAGE OF A GROUNDBREAKING AMNESTY LAW MEANT TO SOLVE THE ISSUE OF UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRATION. DAN RATHER: GOOD EVENING. THIS IS THE "CBS EVENING NEWS," DAN RATHER REPORTING. PRESIDENT REAGAN DID SIGN THE SWEEPING NEW IMMIGRATION REFORM ACT TODAY. MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR AMNESTY AND WILL BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR LEGAL RESIDENCY STATUS, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. RONALD REAGAN: FUTURE GENERATIONS OF AMERICANS WILL BE THANKFUL... MAN, VOICE-OVER: THE IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF 1986 THAT WAS POPULARLY KNOWN AS THE AMNESTY LAW. REAGAN: SO NOW I'LL GET ON WITH THE SIGNING AND MAKE THIS INTO LAW. RATHER: IT'S A BILL DESIGNED TO OPEN THE DOOR OF OPPORTUNITY FOR UP TO 6 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS ALREADY IN THE UNITED STATES. REAGAN: ...IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE REFORM OF OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS SINCE 1952. [VCR WHIRRS] [FAST FORWARD CHATTER] NARRATOR: BUT IMMIGRATION DIDN'T STOP, AND IT BROUGHT A RADICAL DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE TO CALIFORNIA. PEOPLE OF COLOR, ESPECIALLY LATINOS, WERE BECOMING MORE VISIBLE. WOMAN ON VIDEO: CELIA... REPORTER: 40% OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY TODAY IS HISPANIC. SOMETIME IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, THEY'LL BE THE MAJORITY HERE. AND THEN THERE ARE THE ASIANS, 20% AND RISING, ALONG WITH THE BLACK COMMUNITY. MAN 2, VOICE-OVER: CALIFORNIA WENT FROM BEING ONE OF THE STRONGEST ECONOMIES IN THE COUNTRY TO, IN THE EARLY NINETIES, THE STATE BEGAN TO FEEL THE IMPACT OF AN ECONOMIC RECESSION. REPORTER: LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE ECONOMY. REPORTER 2: MORE INDICATIONS OF RECESSION CAME TODAY... MAN 3, VOICE-OVER: IT WAS A VERY TENSE TIME OF ECONOMIC TRANSITION. THERE WAS A NATIONAL RECESSION IN THE EARLY 1990S THAT REALLY DIDN'T BEGIN TO CLEAR UNTIL AFTER 1994. MAN 2, VOICE-OVER: IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT ECONOMIC REALITY THAT CALIFORNIA STARTED FACING. MAN 4, VOICE-OVER: HALF OF ALL OF THE JOBS LOST IN THE COUNTRY WERE LOST IN CALIFORNIA. RAPHAEL SONENSHEIN: IT WAS REALLY GOING TO BE ABOUT RESOURCES AND WORK IN CALIFORNIA, BUT AT THE STREET LEVEL, IT WAS BEGINNING TO BE A SITUATION OF ALL AGAINST ALL, WHICH IS ALWAYS A FRAMEWORK FOR TROUBLE IN RACIAL AND ETHNIC POLITICS. NEWS ANNOUNCER: TONIGHT ON KIRO NEWS AT 11:00... REPORTER: THE VERDICT IS NOT GUILTY. THE OFFICERS CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING RODNEY KING LEAVE THE COURTROOM IN A STATE OF EUPHORIA AND THE PUBLIC IN A STATE OF SHOCK. REPORTER 2: THE POLICE OFFICERS STOPPED A 25-YEAR-OLD BLACK MAN, THEN BEAT HIM, KICKED HIM, AND CLUBBED HIM. WOMAN ON VIDEO: THERE IS AN UNDERCURRENT OF RACISM. MAN ON VIDEO: IT'S BLACKS, MEXICANS. IT'S THE JAPANESE, ALL YOU SO-CALLED MINORITIES. MAN 4: LOS ANGELES' CIVIL UNREST WAS FUNDAMENTAL IN THE SENSE THAT IT SHOCKED LOS ANGELES INTO RECOGNIZING THE PATTERN OF INEQUALITY AND ECONOMIC DESPERATION THAT EXISTED. WOMAN ON VIDEO: WHAT'S GOING ON IN THESE PEOPLE'S MINDS? THEY DON'T CARE. WOMAN 2 ON VIDEO: EVERYONE WITH GUNS PROTECTING THIS STORE. [MAN FIRES PISTOL] [SIREN] OFFICER: EITHER SIDE, ON ME! MAN ON VIDEO: THIS IS RIDICULOUS. THIS IS CHAOS RIGHT NOW, AND I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL SOMEWHAT RESPONSIBLE. REPORTER: THEY'RE PULLING THE DRIVER OUT OF THE VAN, AND THEY'RE KICKING THE DRIVER AND BEATING THE DRIVER. MAN 2 ON VIDEO: WELL, WE BURNING DOWN OUR OWN COMMUNITY. THERE'S A LOT OF BUILT UP ANGER AND FRUSTRATION. REPORTER 2: THE SITUATION HERE IS THAT IT'S BASICALLY UNCONTROLLED. THE POLICE HAVE BEEN GOING BY, AND THEY HAVE KEPT ON MOVING. AND WE'RE GONNA THROW IT BACK TO THE STU-- [STATIC, SINE TONE] GEORGE H.W. BUSH: NEARLY 4,000 FIRES, STAGGERING PROPERTY DAMAGE, HUNDREDS OF INJURIES, AND THE SENSELESS DEATHS OF OVER 30 PEOPLE. [FAST-FORWARD CHATTER] [INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC] DAVID GOODNOW: "HEADLINE NEWS." I'M DAVID GOODNOW. TWO MAJOR WILDFIRES ARE BURNING OUT OF CONTROL AT THIS HOUR IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. MANY HOMES WERE REDUCED TO ASHES WITHIN MINUTES. REPORTER: THE RIOTS OF TWO YEARS AGO, THE WILDFIRES OF LAST YEAR. NOW THE SECOND DEADLY EARTHQUAKE IN JUST OVER 4 YEARS. TOM BROKAW: THIS AREA IS STILL TRYING TO RECOVER TONIGHT FROM A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE THAT STRUCK EARLY THIS MORNING IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY IN NORTHRIDGE, AND IT DID MAJOR DAMAGE THROUGHOUT THE LOS ANGELES BASIN. REPORTER 2: THIS IS A MAGNITUDE 6.6 EARTHQUAKE. THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO ASCERTAIN THE EXACT EPICENTER. REPORTER 1: CALIFORNIA, ONCE THE EPITOME OF THE AMERICAN DREAM, HAS BECOME THE COUNTRY'S NUMBER-ONE DISASTER AREA. BILL CLINTON: DUE TO THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE EARTHQUAKE, I HAVE BY SIGNING THE DOCUMENT DECLARED THESE AREAS OF CALIFORNIA TO BE A MAJOR DISASTER. FERNANDO J. GUERRA: IT SEEMED LIKE CALIFORNIA WAS FALLING APART ECONOMICALLY, POLITICALLY, SOCIALLY, ENVIRONMENTALLY. WE FELT LIKE WE WERE UNDER ATTACK. AND WHAT WAS DIFFERENT? WELL, A NUMBER OF LATINOS AND IMMIGRANTS THAT WERE IN OUR PRESENCE. SONENSHEIN: IMMIGRATION HAD ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF CALIFORNIA POLITICS. BACK TO THE 1800S, CALIFORNIA BECAME THE SEEDBED OF TODAY'S IMMIGRATION POLITICS. JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS, CHINESE IMMIGRANTS, AND MEXICAN WORKERS IN CALIFORNIA AND OTHERS, THIS WAS THE MODERN VERSION OF ALL THAT. STEWART KWOH: THE EXCLUSION OF CHINESE IN 1882 THAT WAS LATER APPLIED TO ALL THE ASIAN GROUPS, THE INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS DURING WORLD WAR II-- DEFINITELY NEED TO INFLUENCE HOW WE SEE THE CURRENT DAY. BORDER PATROL AGENT: WELL, IN THE SAN DIEGO SECTOR, WE COVER 66 MILES OF THE BORDER, AND WE APPREHEND AN AVERAGE OF 1,500 PEOPLE A DAY. FOR EVERY ONE WE APPREHEND, AT LEAST ONE GETS AWAY. SO THERE'S PROBABLY AS MANY AS 3,000 PERSONS CROSSING AT ANY GIVEN DATE THROUGH THIS AREA. MAN ON VIDEO: THERE IS SOMEWHAT OF AN ANTI-IMMIGRANT ATTITUDE AMONG MANY PEOPLE THAT WE'VE TAKEN MORE THAN OUR FAIR SHARE, THAT THE HOUSE IS FULL, THE INN IS-- THERE'S NO MORE ROOM IN THE INN. NICE PLACE TO VISIT, BUT GO BACK HOME. [SONENSHEIN SIGHS] SONENSHEIN: IN SOME WAYS, ONE NEEDED NEW EXPLANATIONS FOR ANXIETY. UNFORTUNATELY, IMMIGRANTS BECAME A USEFUL SCAPEGOAT FOR THAT ANXIETY. NARRATOR: AS THE STATE WAS GOING THROUGH THIS CRISIS, A SMALL GROUP OF ACTIVISTS IN ORANGE COUNTY STARTED ORGANIZING AGAINST WHAT THEY PERCEIVED AS THE THREAT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. SOME OF THESE ACTIVISTS, LIKE BARBARA COE AND RON PRINCE, SHARED COMMON BELIEF OF THE EFFECT THAT IMMIGRATION HAD HAD IN THE STATE AND IN THEIR OWN LIVES. PILAR MARRERO: PART OF THE REASON 187 CAME ABOUT WAS BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY, WHICH WAS THE TRADITIONALLY CONSERVATIVE, WHITE AREA OF CALIFORNIA THAT STARTED SEEING ALL THIS SPANISH BEING SPOKEN, YOU KNOW. AND THERE'S AN ANECDOTE ABOUT THIS WOMAN CALLED BARBARA COE. SHE WAS JUST A RESIDENT, A LADY FROM ORANGE COUNTY, WHO, AS SHE TOLD THE STORY ONE DAY, SHE CAME IN A SOCIAL SERVICE OFFICE ATTENDING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE SPEAKING DIFFERENT LANGUAGES-- SPEAKING SPANISH AND VIETNAMESE. AND SHE DIDN'T SEE THAT MANY AMERICANS BEING HELPED. SO THE CONCLUSION SHE GOT WAS THAT AMERICANS WERE NOT GETTING HELPED BECAUSE ALL THESE IMMIGRANTS WHO SPOKE OTHER LANGUAGES. AND THIS IS WHAT SHE WOULD TELL, WHY SHE CAME TOGETHER WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY TO CREATE THIS ANTI-IMMIGRANT GROUP. NARRATOR: AMONG OTHER PARTICIPANTS WHO TOOK A PROMINENT ROLE WERE POLITICAL CONSULTANTS SUCH AS ROBERT KILEY AND HIS WIFE BARBARA, WHO WAS THE MAYOR OF YORBA LINDA, FORMER DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE ALAN NELSON, FORMER WESTERN REGIONAL CHIEF HAROLD EZELL; AND ASSEMBLYMAN RICHARD MOUNTJOY. MARRERO: AND ALL OF THESE PEOPLE HAD THEIR OWN STORY ABOUT WHY THEY FELT IMMIGRANTS WERE BAD. YOU KNOW, HOW THEY PERSONALLY FELT AFFECTED BY IMMIGRANTS. AND SO THEY ENDED UP FORMING THIS GROUP CALLED S.O.S., SAVE OUR STATE. SO THEY DECIDED THEY WERE GONNA HAVE AN INITIATIVE. AND IN CALIFORNIA, YOU CAN JUST GATHER SIGNATURES AND PUT A LAW ON THE BALLOT, AND PEOPLE WILL VOTE FOR IT. MAN 5, VOICE-OVER: IT WAS THE MOST EXTREME, THE MOST DRACONIAN ANTI-IMMIGRANT STATE LAW IN DECADES. GLORIA MOLINA: WE DID NOT THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE AS AGGRESSIVE A CAMPAIGN AS IT BECAME. THE REASON WAS BECAUSE IT WAS A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT REALLY HAD NOT A VERY GOOD MESSAGE. THEY BASICALLY HAD A MESSAGE THAT WAS VERY ANTI-LATINO. AND WE DIDN'T THINK THAT THE REST OF CALIFORNIA WOULD EMBRACE SUCH AN ISSUE. MARRERO: THEY WEREN'T VERY SUCCESSFUL INITIALLY. IT SEEMED THAT THEY WERE NOT GONNA MAKE IT. NARRATOR: WHILE THE S.O.S. TEAM WORKED TO GET THE NECESSARY SIGNATURES TO QUALIFY FOR THE BALLOT, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR PETE WILSON SEEMED HEADED FOR DEFEAT IN HIS BID FOR REELECTION. SONENSHEIN: PETE WILSON WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL POLITICIANS IN MODERN CALIFORNIA, A MODERATE REPUBLICAN WHO WAS ALSO A VERY STRONG ENVIRONMENTALIST AND PRO CHOICE ON ABORTION. BUT BECAUSE OF THE RECESSION, HE WAS VERY VULNERABLE AS A REELECTION CANDIDATE. SO PETE WILSON WAS IN BIG TROUBLE RUNNING FOR REELECTION. AND HE ENDED UP FACING A VERY STRONG DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE, KATHLEEN BROWN. REPORTER: WILSON'S FUTURE PROBABLY DEPENDS ON HERS. SHE IS STATE TREASURER KATHLEEN BROWN, WHO'S EXPECTED TO WIN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TODAY. SONENSHEIN: BUT AS THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR BEGAN TO SUFFER POLITICALLY GOING INTO HIS REELECTION IN 1994, THINGS BEGAN TO FALL INTO PLACE IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAT IMMIGRATION WAS NOW GOING TO BECOME A CONSERVATIVE, REPUBLICAN ISSUE. WOMAN, VOICE-OVER: A DEAR FRIEND OF MINE, JERRY EPSTEIN, HE HAPPENED TO BE AT THE MEETING WHERE THE REPUBLICAN POLITICAL OPERATIVES WERE DECIDING HOW THEY WERE GONNA WIN THE ELECTION. AND SO HE CALLED ME, AND HE SAYS TO ME, "ANTONIA, I AM SO SORRY TO TELL YOU, BUT THEY ARE GOING TO USE IMMIGRATION AS THE WEDGE ISSUE IN ORDER TO WIN REELECTION." REPORTER: IT HAS BECOME THE ISSUE IN THE GOVERNOR'S RACE. PETE WILSON, A 187-SUPPORTER, IS PINNING HIS REELECTION HOPES ON ANTI-IMMIGRANT SENTIMENT. WILSON: WE ARE GONNA TAKE BACK CALIFORNIA FOR THE WORKING, TAX-PAYING FAMILIES OF THIS STATE. FABIAN NUÑEZ: AT THE BEGINNING OF MAY OF 1994, PETE WILSON RAN HIS FIRST POLITICAL COMMERCIALS TO TEST WHETHER OR NOT IT WOULD SIMPLY BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM TO BLAME THE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS FOR ECONOMIC WOES. HE PUT COMMERCIALS ON TELEVISION TALKING ABOUT HOW IMMIGRANTS KEEP COMING. IT WAS ENTITLED "THEY KEEP COMING." AND IT WORKED. ANNOUNCER ON COMMERCIAL: THEY KEEP COMING. 2 MILLION ILLEGALS IN CALIFORNIA. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WON'T STOP THEM AT THE BORDER, YET REQUIRES US TO PAY BILLIONS TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. WILSON SENT THE NATIONAL GUARD TO HELP... MAN 6, VOICE-OVER: THAT WAS A SLAP IN THE FACE. MAN 7: IT FRANKLY INSULTED ME. IT HURT ME. WOMAN: THERE'S IMMIGRANTS ALL OVER THIS STATE. WHY ARE WE ONLY LOOKING AT THE MEXICAN BORDER? MAN 8: THAT AD WAS SUCH AN AFFRONT. I MEAN, IT FELT SO PERSONAL THAT IT WAS SPEAKING ABOUT ME, IT WAS SPEAKING ABOUT MY FRIENDS, IT WAS SPEAKING ABOUT MY FAMILY. ALEX PADILLA: AND HEAR FROM POLITICIANS THAT, YOU KNOW, "CALIFORNIA'S GOING DOWNHILL, AND IT'S THE FAULT OF PEOPLE LIKE YOUR PARENTS." THAT SHOOK ME TO MY CORE. SANDRA DIAZ: I REMEMBER HAVING CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE DINNER TABLE WITH MY PARENTS AND MY DAD EXPRESSING, SAYING... [SPEAKING SPANISH] AND ME KNOWING THAT BUT ACTUALLY FEELING REALLY ANGRY ABOUT IT AND UNDERSTANDING IT IN A DEEPER WAY. NARRATOR: THE S.O.S. COMMITTEE WANTED GOVERNOR WILSON'S SUPPORT, BUT HE SEEMED RELUCTANT UNLESS THE INITIATIVE QUALIFIED FOR THE BALLOT. MAN 5: IT WAS ONLY TOWARD THE END OF THEIR PERIOD OF TIME TO COLLECT SIGNATURES THAT THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY'S MAILER TO ALL OF ITS MEMBERS SEEKING SIGNATURES. SO BUT FOR THAT INTERVENTION BY THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY IS WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN QUALIFYING PROP 187 FOR THE BALLOT. NARRATOR: IN JUNE 1994, THE INITIATIVE QUALIFIED FOR THE NOVEMBER BALLOT. IT SOUGHT TO TAKE STATE PROGRAMS AWAY FROM THE UNDOCUMENTED AND FORCE REPORTING OF THEIR STATUS. IT CAME TO BE KNOWN BY ITS PROPOSITION NUMBER: 187. PATT MORRISON: IT IS ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND BITTERLY-CONTESTED BALLOT MEASURES IN CALIFORNIA'S POLITICAL HISTORY, IGNITING A PAINFUL DEBATE OVER WHAT KIND OF SOCIETY WE WANT TO CREATE AND WHO WILL BE A PART OF IT. IT IS PROPOSITION 187, POPULARLY KNOWN AS SAVE OUR STATE. REPORTER: PROP 187 WOULD MAKE ILLEGAL ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES, PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SERVICES UNLESS THEY WERE OF AN EMERGENCY NATURE, REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW, AND PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION AT ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND POST-SECONDARY LEVELS. S.O.S. REQUIRES VARIOUS STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES TO REPORT PERSONS WHO ARE SUSPECTED ILLEGAL ALIENS TO THE CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE U.S. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE. IT WOULD, FURTHER, MAKE IT A FELONY TO MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTE, SELL, OR USE FALSE CITIZENSHIP OR RESIDENCE DOCUMENTS. REPORTER 2: IT IS, IN SHORT, FOR THE FIRST TIME, A DELIBERATE STRATEGY TO TURN AWAY NEWCOMERS AND TO KEEP AMERICA FOR AMERICANS FIRST. MAN 5, VOICE-OVER: SO EARLY ON, WHEN IT QUALIFIED FOR THE BALLOT, THE POLLS TOLD US THAT EVERY COMMUNITY, INCLUDING THE LATINO-VOTING COMMUNITY, WOULD OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT PROPOSITION 187. SO WE ALL KNEW AT MALDEF AND ALL OF THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WORKING AGAINST THE INITIATIVE THAT WE HAD AN UPHILL BATTLE TO CONVINCE EVEN OUR OWN COMMUNITIES TO VOTE AGAINST THIS EXTREME ANTI-IMMIGRANT MEASURE. MOLINA: WHAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST PAINFUL IS FROM, TIME TO TIME, LISTENING TO LATINOS, WHO WERE LIKE MYSELF, THAT WERE BORN HERE, AND, ALL OF A SUDDEN, SAY, "WELL, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF UNFAIR THAT THESE PEOPLE COME ACROSS THE BORDER AND HAVE THEIR BABIES HERE." THEY WERE BUYING IN TO THE SAME RHETORIC. DICK ROSENGARTEN: I THINK THAT WILSON WINS AT THIS POINT UNLESS KATHLEEN CAN TURN IT AROUND. AND I THINK THAT WILSON DOES HAVE THE ISSUE THAT HAS CATAPULTED HIM AHEAD OF KATHLEEN, AND THAT'S WHAT CHRIS SAID, 187, THIS IMMIGRATION THING... MODERATOR: RIGHT. THE CRIME ISSUE IS NOW NUMBER 2, AND THIS IS NUMBER ONE. SUE HORTON: YOU KNOW, THE THING ABOUT ALL OF THAT, THOUGH, IS THAT THAT'S REALLY THE SIDE ISSUE. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING IS, "OUR SCHOOLS ARE NO GOOD, SO IT MUST BE THE IMMIGRANTS' FAULT. LET'S GET THEM OUT, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE MONEY TO DO IT RIGHT." THERE'S HIGH CRIME. "WELL, LET'S BLAME THAT ON IMMIGRANTS, TOO." AND THOSE ARE SIDE ISSUES. AND I THINK IT KEEPS BOTH CANDIDATES FROM FOCUSING ON REAL ISSUES THAT REALLY ARE OF CONCERN TO VOTERS. NUÑEZ: THAT'S WHEN IT HIT HOME. THAT'S WHEN IT WAS NO MORE A QUESTION OF, OK, THIS IS JUST POLITICAL RHETORIC BY SOME NATIVIST ACTIVISTS WHO WANT TO GET PEOPLE'S ATTENTION. IT BECAME AN ISSUE OF, WE'RE IN A REAL FIGHT, AND WE HAVE TO ORGANIZE BECAUSE THIS IS GONNA BE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO WIN OVER ALL OF THE VOTERS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. THOMAS SAENZ: SO IT WAS A MARK OF EXTREME ANTI-IMMIGRANT LAWMAKING. IT CLEARLY TARGETED NOT JUST UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS BUT EVERYONE IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY. IF IT WERE EVER IMPLEMENTED, IT WOULD HAVE AFFECTED EVERYONE'S RIGHT TO ACCESS GOVERNMENT SERVICES BASED ON "REASONABLE SUSPICION" OF WHO WAS UNDOCUMENTED. WOMAN 2: IF YOU WERE A RACIALLY VISIBLE MINORITY, IF YOU HAD AN ACCENT OR EVEN, WORSE YET, IF YOU DIDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH, THEN YOU WERE GONNA BE ASKED TO PROVE YOUR DOCUMENTATION REGARDLESS OF YOUR STATUS. ESTELA HERRERA: 187 IS AN ATTACK, A FRONTAL ATTACK TO THE LATINO COMMUNITY. FIRST OF ALL, BECAUSE IT MAKES US ALL SUSPECTS. RICHARD POLANCO: IT WOULD REQUIRE DOCTORS, NURSES, TEACHERS TO REPORT TO THE I.N.S. IF YOU SUSPECTED THAT THAT CHILD OR THAT FAMILY WERE UNDOCUMENTED. SUSPECTED! SAENZ: AND WE KNEW AT THE TIME THAT THOSE SUSPICIONS WOULD BE BASED ON RACE AND LANGUAGE AND NAME, AND IT WOULD DEFINITELY AFFECT THE LATINO COMMUNITY IN PARTICULAR. JIM FRANCO: IF SOMEONE SHOULD BE KICKED OUT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BASED ON "REASONABLE SUSPICION," NOW, WHO DO YOU THINK THEY'RE GONNA HAVE REASONABLE SUSPICION FOR? IS IT GONNA BE THE CANADIAN OR THE IRISH, ANYBODY ELSE? IT'S GONNA BE SOMEBODY THAT LOOKS BROWN, IS LATINO. SO IF YOU WANT TO WIN VOTES ON CRIME AND USING SO-CALLED ILLEGALS, YOU'RE GONNA PUT BROWN FACES IN THOSE COMMERCIALS. IT'S THAT SIMPLE. GUERRA: AND WE WOULD NOT ONLY BE IMPACTED, YOU KNOW, PHYSICALLY IN TERMS OF SOME BEING REMOVED, BUT WE WOULD BE IMPACTED ECONOMICALLY IN TERMS OF OUR HOUSEHOLD INCOMES, WE WOULD BE IMPACTED PSYCHOLOGICALLY BY THE DISAPPEARANCE IMMEDIATELY OF MANY OF OUR FAMILY, NEIGHBORS, COWORKERS. PEDRO VILLARROYA: 187 HAS DIVIDED A LOT OF PEOPLE. THE FEELINGS OF FRIENDSHIP AND TRUST THAT WERE ALREADY GROWING INTO THE CITY HAS BEEN DISAPPEARING. SO, YEAH, WE DO HAVE A PROBLEM. GUERRA: INSTINCTIVELY, YOU JUST KNEW IN YOUR GUT THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A DEVASTATING INITIATIVE TO THE LATINO COMMUNITY. CELIA LACAYO: SO I THINK PROPOSITION 187 DID, IN FACT, ALLOW FOR OTHER GROUPS, SUCH AS AFRICAN AMERICANS AND ASIAN AMERICANS AND ASIAN IMMIGRANTS, TO REALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS FOR OTHER GROUPS TO BE TARGETED AND WHAT THEIR TAKE IS GONNA BE. WOMAN 2: THIS REALLY HAD A BIG IMPACT ON THE ASIAN COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST, WE REALLY HAD TO FIGHT A LOT OF RACISM. ACTIVISTS: 187 HAS GOT TO GO, HEY, HEY, HO HO... MIYA IWATAKI: AND SO WHAT WE SAW IN THE ASIAN COMMUNITY AT THAT TIME WERE A LOT OF INDIVIDUAL, SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS-- THE THAI CDC, THE CHINATOWN SERVICE CENTER, UNITED CAMBODIAN COMMUNITY, AND WE FIRST STARTED DISCUSSING, YOU KNOW, THIS ISSUE OF WHAT IT WOULD DO TO OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE FORMED ASIAN AMERICANS AGAINST PROPOSITION 187. WE HAD 60 ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE PART OF THE NETWORK. GUERRA: ASIAN COMMUNITIES UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS WAS ANTI-IMMIGRANT AND UNDERSTOOD THAT THEY WERE IMMIGRANTS AND THAT THIS WOULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT THEM IF IMPLEMENTED. KWOH: IT WAS GOING TO TARGET ASIANS BUT ALSO TARGET OTHER IMMIGRANTS, ESPECIALLY LATINOS. AND WE NEEDED TO STAND TOGETHER. WE NEEDED TO STAND STRONG IN SOLIDARITY, EVEN THOUGH ONE SEGMENT OF THE COMMUNITY WAS BEING ATTACKED PERHAPS MORE. MAN 8: AS IMMIGRANTS IN HIGH SCHOOL, WE DID FEEL TARGETED. AND THE TENSIONS WERE WITH THE STUDENTS THAT WERE BORN IN THE U.S. IT WAS ALSO MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS QUESTIONING OUR PRESENCE IN THE U.S., SOMETIMES THROWING INSULTS AT US: "GO BACK TO TIJUANA," WHICH IS QUITE INTERESTING, BECAUSE I'M ACTUALLY FROM GUADALAJARA. STUDENT: HOW CAN WE MAKE IMMIGRANTS AND U.S. CITIZENS EQUAL? STUDENT 2: ALL A WOMAN IMMIGRANT HAS TO DO IS HAVE A CHILD. WE HOUSE THEM, WE FEED THEM. WE CLOTHE THEM. WHAT ELSE DO THEY WANT? STUDENT 3: COLLEGE GRADUATES FROM THIS COUNTRY CAN'T EVEN GET JOBS BECAUSE THERE IS NONE. THERE'S TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY. STUDENT 4: THEY MUST ADJUST TO SPEAK ENGLISH INSTEAD OF US ADJUSTING TO THEIR LIFESTYLES. JORGE LEAL: SO IT STARTED TO GET REALLY TENSE. AND SO THAT KIND OF TENSE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE SAW AS TEENAGERS, IT WAS REPLICATING IN THE POLITICAL SENSE AND, PERHAPS, THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WERE HAPPENING IN THE HOMES OF OTHER STUDENTS. MARIA ELENA DURAZO: WE WORK HARD IN THIS COUNTRY. WE CAME TO WORK HARD. WE WERE SACRIFICING WITH OUR FAMILIES TO HELP THESE INDUSTRIES AND THIS ECONOMY. AND YOU'RE GOING TO TELL US THAT WE ARE NOT WORTHY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR OUR CHILDREN?! IT WAS OUTRAGEOUS. HERRERA: WE HAVE A POPULATION HERE THAT HAS NOT COME--TO GET AN EDUCATION OR HAS NOT COME TO THIS COUNTRY TO GET HEALTH CARE. THEY HAVE COME HERE TO WORK. AND THEY ARE OBEYING A VERY NATURAL PHENOMENON OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN THE LABOR MARKET. GUERRA: THE ARGUMENT CONSTANTLY IS THAT IMMIGRANTS ARE GOING TO TAKE THE JOBS FROM AFRICAN AMERICAN WORKERS AS OPPOSED TO WHITE WORKERS, THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS SHOULD BE MORE ANTI-IMMIGRANT THAN WHITE WORKERS. JESSE JACKSON: PROP 187 WOULD BE A FINANCIAL DISASTER FOR THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA... GUERRA: BUT AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN PRO IMMIGRANT IN TERMS OF CIVIL RIGHTS. ANNETTA WELLS: THIS COUNTRY WAS BUILT ON SLAVERY, AND IT WAS BUILT ON IMMIGRATION. HEH! AND THAT KIND OF FITS THE BOTH OF US. GEORGE RAMOS: A LOT OF LATINOS THINK THAT IT'S, IN FACT, RACIST, THAT IT'S AIMED AT THEM. RON PRINCE: IT DOES NOT SINGLE OUT ANYBODY AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE WHATSOEVER. IT IS SIMPLY TRYING TO ASK FOR IDENTIFICATION FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE APPLYING FOR PUBLIC SERVICES IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. MANUEL PASTOR: IN THE LONG TERM, WHAT DID WORK WAS THE FACT THAT LATINO IMMIGRANTS AND OTHERS BEGAN TO RECOGNIZE THE RACIAL NATURE OF THESE ATTACKS. LACAYO: SO PART OF THE RACIALIZATION, WHICH IS HISTORICAL AND PART OF THE CONTINUITY, IS THAT THIS NARRATIVE OF PERPETUAL FOREIGNER HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH LATINOS. THEY REALLY THINK OF THIS GROUP AS INFERIOR, AND THAT'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE. SO WHITES MAY PERCEIVE SOME IMMIGRANTS TO BE DIFFERENT BUT EQUAL. AND FOR LATINOS, THEY CONSIDER THEM FOREIGN, DIFFERENT, AND INFERIOR. SO THAT'S HOW YOU BEGIN TO HAVE MUCH MORE EXPLICIT RACIALIZED POLICIES THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY TARGETING LATINOS. DENNIS SCHATZMAN: FIRST OF ALL, PROP 187 IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, IT'S DISGUSTING, IT'S RACIST. MAN ON VIDEO: WHY ARE WE ONLY CONCENTRATING ON THE HISPANIC POPULATION? SCHATZMAN: BECAUSE THIS WAS A REPUBLICAN ISSUE, AND REPUBLICANS ARE PAST MASTERS AT USING RACE AND OTHER SORTS OF HOT BUTTON ISSUES TO GET WHITE MALES TO COME OUT TO VOTE. THIS WAS A GOOD ISSUE FOR PETE WILSON AND CONCENTRATE ON THIS BROWN GUY. THAT WAS THE REASON WHY THEY CALLED IT RACIST. MAN ON VIDEO: OK, NOW, THAT'S YOUR POSITION, BUT-- SCHATZMAN: THAT'S A FACT. SONENSHEIN: THAT REPUBLICANS WERE NOT SO ANTI-IMMIGRANT IN THE 1980S AND THE 1990S IN SOME WAYS FOR THE VERY REASONS THAT DEMOCRATS WERE DIVIDED OVER IMMIGRATION. [VCR REWINDING] STUDENT: DO YOU THINK THE CHILDREN OF ILLEGAL ALIENS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FREE, OR DO YOU THINK THAT THEIR PARENTS SHOULD PAY FOR THEIR EDUCATION? BUSH: AS WE HAVE KIND OF MADE ILLEGAL SOME KIND OF LABOR THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE LEGAL, WE'RE DOING TWO THINGS. WE'RE CREATING A WHOLE SOCIETY OF REALLY HONORABLE, DECENT, FAMILY-LOVING PEOPLE THAT ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW AND, SECONDLY, WE'RE EXACERBATING RELATIONS WITH MEXICO. REAGAN: I THINK THE TIME HAS COME THAT THE UNITED STATES AND OUR NEIGHBORS, PARTICULARLY OUR NEIGHBOR TO THE SOUTH, SHOULD HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND A BETTER RELATIONSHIP THAN WE'VE EVER HAD. BUSH: LET'S ADDRESS OURSELVES TO THE FUNDAMENTALS. THESE ARE GOOD PEOPLE, STRONG PEOPLE. [VCR WHIRRS] SONENSHEIN: SO IT'S HARD FOR PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THAT IN 1986, PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN SIGNED A BILL THAT WAS WIDELY KNOWN AS AN AMNESTY BILL, WHICH TODAY, WOULD, OF COURSE, BE COMPLETELY TOXIC IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, OR THAT PETE WILSON HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY SEEN AS A U.S. SENATOR AS FAVORABLE TO INCREASING THE NUMBERS OF WORKERS COMING IN FROM MEXICO AND RELAXING SOME OF THE OBSTACLES TO THAT. SAENZ: IN CALIFORNIA ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE, THERE WAS ALMOST UNANIMOUS SUPPORT AMONG REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS TO VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 187, BUT NOTABLY, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DISSENTING VOICES OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA. THEN-GOVERNOR GEORGE BUSH OF TEXAS CAME OUT PUBLICLY AGAINST PROPOSITION 187 AND INDICATED THAT HIS STATE WOULD APPROACH THE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY. WILLIAM BENNETT, THE FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY, CONSERVATIVE, CAME OUT AGAINST PROPOSITION 187. AND JACK KEMP, WHO A FEW YEARS LATER WOULD BE THE REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE, CAME OUT AGAINST PROPOSITION 187. JACK KEMP: I THINK IT SHOULD BE AN INCLUSIVE PARTY, NOT AN EXCLUSIVE PARTY. I THINK IT SHOULD BE A PROGRESSIVELY CONSERVATIVE PARTY, NOT A XENOPHOBIC, REACTIONARY CONSERVATIVE PARTY. I BELIEVE IN WIN-WIN SOLUTIONS, AND I DON'T THINK 187 IS A WIN-WIN SOLUTION. I THINK IT'S KIND OF A ZERO-SUM. RON UNZ: I DECIDED TO ACTUALLY READ THE INITIATIVE, THOUGH, BEFORE ENDORSING IT, AND I'M VERY GLAD I DID BECAUSE ONCE I READ IT, I FOUND IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST POORLY DRAFTED INITIATIVES EVER TO MAKE THE BALLOT. IT'S A COMPLETELY CRAZY PIECE OF LEGISLATION. MARRERO: AND THEY WARNED--THEY WARNED PETE WILSON AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA FROM USING 187 AS THE POLITICAL ISSUE THAT THEY DID IN THE REELECTION CAMPAIGN OF THE GOVERNOR. "THIS IS NOT THE SOLUTION TO THE ISSUE." AND THEY WERE RIGHT. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. MOLINA: FOR DEMOCRATS, IT WAS A MIXED BAG. FOR THE MOST PART, DEMOCRATS OPPOSED 187. NOW, AGAIN, THEY DIDN'T GO OUT THERE. AND WHEN I WOULD HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE OR ASK THEM TO ENDORSE IT, THEY WERE KIND OF RETICENT. THEY ALWAYS HAD REASONS AS TO WHY THEY COULDN'T DO IT AND SO ON. IT WAS EVEN HARDER TO RAISE MONEY AMONGST MOST OF THEM. ANTONIA HERNANDEZ: NOBODY WAS, LIKE, COMING OUT AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, "OPPOSE IT. THIS IS A TERRIBLE THING." YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD SAY ONE LITTLE THING HERE AND ONE LITTLE THING THERE. DURAZO: SO WHAT IT COMMUNICATED WAS A HESITANCY, A HESITANCY TOWARDS OUR COMMUNITY, A HESITANCY TO TAKE RISK AND TO STAND STRONG WITH HARD WORKING MEN AND WOMEN AND FAMILIES WHO WERE UNDER ATTACK. SO THAT HESITANCY REALLY UPSET US. DIANNE FEINSTEIN: THIS IS A COUNTRY THAT'S BASED ON IMMIGRATION, AND WE ALL KNOW THAT, AND YET, AT TIMES, YOU BECOME SO OVERTAXED, YOU HAVE TO CONCENTRATE ON SAYING, "THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE HERE ARE THOSE WHO COME LEGALLY AT THIS TIME." AND WE'VE GOT TO, FOR THE TIME BEING, ENFORCE OUR BORDERS. MOLINA: DIANNE FEINSTEIN, OUR STATE U.S. SENATOR, TOOK A POSITION BASICALLY IN FAVOR OF 187. IT GAVE LICENSE TO MANY A DEMOCRAT THROUGHOUT THE STATE TO SIT BACK AND NOT TAKE ANY ACTION WHATSOEVER AGAINST 187 OR ACTUALLY SILENTLY SUPPORT IT, EVEN THOUGH THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ITSELF HAD OPPOSED 187. HERNANDEZ: CANDIDATE KATHLEEN BROWN DID COME OUT AND OPPOSE IT, BUT IT WAS TOO LATE. IT WAS TOO LATE IN THE CAMPAIGN TO REALLY HAVE AN IMPACT. MOLINA: A LOT OF US WERE TRYING TO GET PRESIDENT CLINTON AT THAT TIME TO JOIN WITH US IN TAKING A POSITION AGAINST 187. HE FINALLY GOT ON BOARD. IT WAS A LITTLE LATE, TOWARD THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN. THERE WERE ALREADY MANY, YOU KNOW, COMMERCIALS AND A LOT OF POLITICS COMMUNICATION OF BEING PRO 187 BY MANY PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT IT WAS A COMMONSENSE KIND OF THING. SO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WAS ON, BUT BILL CLINTON CAME IN LATE, AND THEN MORE AND MORE DEMOCRATS JOINED US. BUT, VERY FRANKLY, IT WASN'T-- THEY WERE INTIMIDATED BY IT. I THINK EVERYBODY READ THE TEA LEAVES, AS THEY SAY, AND REALIZED THAT THIS WAS GOING TO PASS. IT WAS GOING TO PASS IN THEIR DISTRICTS. BUT WHAT WAS INTERESTING ABOUT IT, I WAS THE ONLY LATINA ON THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, AND SO, VERY FRANKLY, I THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY TOUGH TO TRY AND CONVINCE MY COLLEAGUES TO TAKE A POSITION AGAINST 187, WHICH I THOUGHT THEY SHOULD DO. IWATAKI: WHEN THE BOARD TOOK THAT UNANIMOUS STANCE AGAINST PROP 187, I FELT REALLY PROUD, REALLY PROUD. AND I KNOW THAT GLORIA MOLINA PLAYED THE LEADING ROLE IN GETTING THAT VOTE. MOLINA: THERE WERE SMALL DISCUSSIONS ALONG THE WAY FROM TIME TO TIME ABOUT PROPOSITION 187. I DIDN'T GO OUT DIRECTLY AND SAY, "I NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO BE AGAINST IT." THAT'S NOT THE WAY I APPROACHED IT. WE TALKED ABOUT THE ISSUE ON A REGULAR BASIS OF WHAT WAS GOING ON. WHAT WERE THE ISSUES AROUND IT? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IF WE HAVE TO IMPLEMENT IT? SO AS A CHICANA, AS A LATINA, I WAS AS INTIMIDATED AS MY COMMUNITY WAS, SHOULD THIS PASS WHAT THIS WOULD MEAN. SO IT WAS MORE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THIS IMPLEMENTATION, THE ISSUE ABOUT THE INJUSTICE AND THE INEQUITY. NARRATOR: PROPOSITION 187 GALVANIZED A DIVERSE GROUP OF CALIFORNIANS TO BUILD COALITIONS AND TAKE ACTIONS ON MULTIPLE FRONTS. MAN 9: YOU KNOW, ORGANIZED LABOR IS A SMALL PART OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE, BUT IT'S VERY POWERFUL. AS AN INSTITUTION, IT HAS INCREDIBLE RESOURCES. AND SO BY BRINGING THE UNION MOVEMENT INTO THESE OTHER GRASSROOTS AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, YOU'RE BRINGING EXPERTISE, AND THEN YOU'RE BRINGING INFRASTRUCTURE. YOU'RE BRINGING A LOT OF POWER. OUR STRATEGY WAS TO BUILD A BROAD-BASED COALITION BUILT AROUND LABOR AS THE LEADING FORCE, UTILIZING THE RESOURCES OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT, BUT THEN BRINGING IN OTHER GROUPS LIKE FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND THE CHURCH, BRINGING IN OTHER GROUPS LIKE THE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS GROUPS, LIKE HERMANDAD MEXICANA AND ONE STOP IMMIGRATION. JUAN JOSE GUTIERREZ: SO, LIKE, AT ONE STOP IMMIGRATION & EDUCATIONAL CENTER, AT THE TIME, WE HAD 100, 150 CENTERS WHERE WE TAUGHT IMMIGRANTS ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS AND ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. SO WE COMMUNICATED WITH THAT BASE WHICH NUMBER IN THE THOUSANDS AND INVITED THEM TO GET INVOLVED. SO THAT WAS MULTIPLIED WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE OF LIKE MIND. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WENT TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, TO CHURCHES, TO RELIGIOUS SERVICES. WE ALSO WENT AND REACHED OUT TO THE LABOR UNIONS, TO THE UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE COMMUNITY, THE CAL STATES, ET CETERA. I MEAN, THIS WAS LIKE A MAJOR, MAJOR EFFORT. NARRATOR: THE ANTI-IMMIGRANT TONE PREVALENT IN THE PRO 187 CAMPAIGN SHOOK CALIFORNIA'S LATINO YOUTH PROFOUNDLY. MOST WOULD BE UNABLE TO VOTE IN THE ELECTION, BUT THEY FOUND OTHER WAYS TO EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS. GUTIERREZ: YOU ALSO SAW STUDENTS FROM GRAMMAR SCHOOL TO MIDDLE SCHOOL TO HIGH SCHOOL WHO WALKED OUT UP AND DOWN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN SUPPORT OF THE EFFORTS TO DEFEAT PROPOSITION 187. SO THIS WAS A REAL COMMUNITY EFFORT. WELLS: THIS IS YOUR FIGHT, TOO. DIAZ: I WANTED TO CHANGE THIS REALITY. ALL RIGHT. SO WHAT DO I DO? HOW DO I CHANGE IT? BECAUSE I WANT TO CHANGE THE CONDITIONS. FEMALE SPEAKER ON VIDEO: WE HAVE ONE VOICE TOGETHER... DIAZ: I THINK THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NINETIES KIND OF PUT A SEED IN ME. WELLS: WE WERE FIGHTING FOR... WE WERE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES. WE WERE FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS. THIS RACIST, UNJUST GOVERNMENT THAT WE LIVE IN FINDS SOME WAY TO BREAK US DOWN. [CROWD CHEERING] WE NEED TO JOIN TOGETHER IN UNITY. IT IS ABOUT TIME WE HAD PEACE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. JOIN US. JOIN US. FIGHT FOR VOTER EDUCATION. VOTE FOR VOTER REGISTRATION, ALL OF IT! [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] MONICA GAYLE: THOUSANDS OF CALIFORNIA STUDENTS WALKED OUT OF CLASS TO SHOW THEIR OPPOSITION TO PROPOSITION 187. THE DEMONSTRATION AFFECTED MORE THAN 20 SCHOOLS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. IT IS ESTIMATED NEARLY 10,000 STUDENTS PROTESTED YESTERDAY. DIAZ: YOU HAD STUDENTS THAT WERE WALKING OUT IN OTHER CITIES. AND WHEN THE WALKOUTS STARTED, "HERE STUDENTS ARE GONNA WALK OUT. STUDENTS ARE GONNA WALK OUT!," I REMEMBER MY OLDER SISTER, SHE'S LIKE, "ARE YOU WALKING OUT?" AND I'M LIKE, "OK, YEAH, WE'RE WALKING OUT." AND I ACTUALLY REMEMBER THAT VERY MORNING, HUNDREDS OF KIDS WALKING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL AND EVERY JUNIOR HIGH, KIDS COMING OUT. STUDENTS: WE WANT EQUAL RIGHTS! WE WANT EQUAL RIGHTS! WE WANT EQUAL RIGHTS! DIAZ: IT WAS THIS DAY THAT I LEARNED WHAT COLLECTIVE ACTION WAS, BUT ALSO THAT WE COULD BE VERY PROUD OF WHO WE WERE. MAN ON VIDEO: VIVA LA RAZA! [CHEERING] NARRATOR: A NEW GENERATION OF ARTISTS BEGAN TO RESPOND TO THE ANTI-IMMIGRATION MESSAGE BY USING HUMOR TO CHANNEL THE ANGER OF THE LATINO COMMUNITY. CHON NORIEGA: WHAT OFTEN GETS OVERLOOKED IS THAT THERE'S REALLY BEEN NO SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL OR POLITICAL MOVEMENT THAT DIDN'T HAVE THE ARTS AS A FOUNDATION FOR SHARPENING AND CIRCULATING ITS MESSAGE. IT'S NOT JUST POLITICAL. IT'S VERY MUCH ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS. IT'S VERY MUCH ABOUT AESTHETICS AND HOW YOU SHIFT THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THINGS AND HAVE A VOICE. LALO ALCARAZ: YEAH, IT WAS KIND OF A VIEW INTO WHAT WE WERE FEELING. YOU KNOW, GETTING ATTACKED SO MUCH. PROP 187 DIDN'T MAKE ME START DOING NEW THINGS. I HAD ALREADY BEEN DOING THEM, BUT I THINK I STARTED DOING MORE IMMIGRATION CARTOONS THAN USUAL. BACK THEN, I HAD MET MY FRIEND ESTEBAN ZUL. HE AND I HAD CREATED "POCHO" MAGAZINE, AND IT WAS A HANDMADE ZINE THAT WE'D MAKE PHOTOCOPIES. IT WAS A HUMOR MAGAZINE THAT WE DID, SATIRE. AND, YOU KNOW, I DID ONE EDITORIAL CARTOON A WEEK FOR THE "L.A. WEEKLY." ME FINALLY HAVING, LIKE, A LITTLE PLATFORM, AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT PROP 187, AND WE COULDN'T BELIEVE ALL THE HATRED THAT WAS BEING SPEWED EVERY DAY. AND I THOUGHT, WHAT WOULD BE A FUN WAY TO ATTACK WILSON? SO I DREW PETE WILSON A LOT. AND I SAW IT AS A WAY TO, YOU KNOW, PUNCH BACK AT PETE WILSON. PRETTY ICONIC IMAGES THAT I DID BACK THEN. I THINK CHICANO ARTISTS HAVE, LIKE, AN ABILITY--BEING ABLE TO CREATE THESE, LIKE, REALLY BOLD IMAGES. AND THAT'S ALWAYS MY GOAL. HIT YOU OVER THE HEAD AND COMMUNICATE INSTANTLY. I WAS SUPER EXCITED IF PEOPLE ASKED ME IF THEY COULD USE THE IMAGE FOR A FLIER. I WOULD SAY, "OF COURSE." YOU KNOW, "GO AHEAD." SO PEOPLE WOULD XEROX MY CARTOONS AND BLOW THEM UP, LIKE, YOU KNOW, AT THE COFFEE SHOPS AND HOLD THEM UP IN RALLIES AND THINGS. AND THEY WOULD PASS THEM AROUND. AND TO ME, I MEAN, THAT WAS LIKE MY INTERNET. MY SOCIAL MEDIA IS GETTING THE PEOPLE IN THE MOVEMENT TO SHARE THE IMAGES. AND IT ONLY ENCOURAGED ME TO DO MORE. IT'S ALL POLITICAL MESSAGING, YOU KNOW, FOR ME. I MEAN, IT'S EMPOWERING PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE SOME OF THESE POINTS AND CAN LOOK AT AN IMAGE AND GO, LIKE, "THAT'S WHAT I FEEL." AND THEN THEY CAN COPY IT, AND THEY CAN HOLD IT UP AT A RALLY AND SHOW THE WORLD, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE THINK. MAN 10: THIS WAS A SMACK IN THE FACE. THIS WAS REALITY TIME, AND THAT WE HAD TO TAKE THE BATTLE A LITTLE BIT DEEPER AND FURTHER. [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] WITHOUT KNOWING ANY BETTER, WE WERE GONNA USE EVERYTHING AT OUR DISPOSAL, AND THAT HAPPENS TO BE THE TIME WE WERE ON TELEVISION. THIS WAS THE GREATEST THING WE COULD DO AT THE TIME. WE WEREN'T POLITICIANS. THE WHITE MAN THINK THAT HE CAN TELL US WHAT TO DO. I HATE THAT [BLEEP], MAN. I HATE THAT [BLEEP]. TV ANNOUNCER: PLEASE STAND BY. WE'RE EXPERIENCING HISPANIC DIFFICULTIES. RICHARD MONTOYA: WE WERE DOING EVERYTHING WE COULD TO HUMANIZE THE MEXICAN WORKER. TV ANNOUNCER: ANOTHER EPISODE OF "THE MEX-MEN." MONTOYA: HAVING PEOPLE LOOK AT THEM DIFFERENTLY. AND HUMOR SEEMED TO BE A TICKET THAT WE COULD WIN OVER AN AUDIENCE BY MAKING THIS SOMEHOW FUN. AND THAT'S CALLED SATIRE. MEX-MAN: MEX-MEN, WE MUST STOP THIS EVIL I.N.S. VATO. MEX-MAN 2: YOU WILL NOT DEPORT HARD WORKING PAISANOS, PENDEJO. MEX-MAN 1: THAT'S RIGHT, HOMBRE. MAN IN SUIT: QUICK, MY IMMIGRATION CRONIES, GET OUT THE SECRET WEAPON. [MEX-MEN GROANING AND YELLING] [AUDIENCE LAUGHING] MONTOYA, VOICE-OVER: THE ARTIST CAN ACTUALLY CARRY THE CONVERSATION SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, GET A MESSAGE OUT THERE. AND THAT MESSAGE FOR US WAS ONE OF HUMANITY AND OF JUSTICE FOR OUR MEXICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS. ACTOR: I CANNOT WAIT TO GET TO AMERICA AND START MY OWN BUSINESS AND THEN TO BUY A HOME. [DINOSAUR LAUGHING] DINOSAUR: OH, YOU KILL ME. HA HA! HA HA... NARRATOR: A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE ELECTION, THE BIG TOP LOCOS ROCK FESTIVAL, ORGANIZED BY CULTURE CLASH, BROUGHT TOGETHER YOUTH AGAINST 187. LEAL: BIG TOP LOCOS BECAME A UNIFYING MOMENT. IT BECAME A SPACE OF POLITICIZATION, AND BECAME A PLACE OF SOLIDARITY BETWEEN LATER GENERATION MEXICAN AMERICANS OR LATINOS WITH RECENT IMMIGRANTS AND ALSO WHITE PROGRESSIVES. [CHEERING] [INDISTINCT SINGING] LEAL: THE FACT THAT YOU HAD A LOT OF THE BIG L.A. BANDS AT THE TIME, SUCH AS RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, CYPRESS HILL, ALONG WITH BANDS LIKE TIJUANA NO!, LIKE MARIA FATAL, AND ALSO OTHER BANDS FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COMING TOGETHER. ["KILLING IN THE NAME" STARTS] LEAL: THE MUSIC ACTED AS A CONDUIT TO CREATE A SPACE WHERE, AS IMMIGRANTS, WE FEEL WELCOME, WE'LL FEEL AS PART OF A GREATER COMMUNITY OF IMMIGRANTS COMING TOGETHER IN ONE SHOW TO ONE--EXPRESS OUR REPUDIATION AGAINST 187 BUT ALSO FOR US TO IMAGINE A WAY FORWARD AS A COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY. ZACK DE LA ROCHA: ♪ KILLING IN THE NAME OF! ♪ MONTOYA: THIS HUGE CONCERT, IT MUST'VE BEEN THE BIGGEST MOSH PIT IN L.A. HISTORY. DE LA ROCHA: ♪ WE GOTTA TAKE THE POWER BACK ♪ MONTOYA: WE'RE STANDING HERE FOR IMMIGRANTS. WE'RE STANDING HERE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. WE'RE PLACING OURSELVES IN A CERTAIN KIND OF DANGER SO THAT WE CAN GET THE STORY RIGHT AND WE CAN BE OURSELVES AND BE AUTHENTIC. DE LA ROCHA: TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THEM THAT THEY'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO CONTROL US, THEY'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DENY OUR CHILDREN A RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION. THIS SONG IS CALLED "TAKE THE POWER BACK." [CROWD CHEERING] [VCR WHIRRS] KEVIN DE LEON: WE WERE YOUNG. WE WERE IDEALISTIC, YOU KNOW? WE WERE NAIVE. AND WE WERE FULL OF PROMISE. NUÑEZ: AND WE LEARNED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT THEY SHOULD COME OUT TO DEFEND THEIR RIGHTS IN THIS STRUGGLE FOR THEIR OWN DIGNITY WAS THAT THEY THEMSELVES HAD TO TAKE THIS FIGHT TO THE STREETS. THEY COULDN'T RELY ON OTHER PEOPLE TO DO THIS FOR THEM. AND I THINK, ULTIMATELY, IT WAS EASIER TO CONVINCE PEOPLE BECAUSE WE DID A COUPLE OF TRIAL RUNS BEFORE WE DID THE BIG MARCH ON OCTOBER 16th. WE DID A MARCH, FOR EXAMPLE, IN JANUARY. WE DID ANOTHER MARCH IN MAY. NARRATOR: SPANISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA HAD HAD A MAJOR ROLE IN THE LIVES OF LATINO IMMIGRANTS IN THIS COUNTRY. IT BECAME ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE OPPOSITION OF PROP 187. NUÑEZ: THE SUPPORT THAT WE RECEIVED FROM ALL OF THE SPANISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA OUTLETS WHO CAME FORWARD AND SAID, "WE WANT TO BE PART OF THIS EFFORT. WE WANT TO HELP YOU." WHEN THEY SAW THAT WE WERE ORGANIZING, WE WOULD HAVE PRESS CONFERENCES, MANY TIMES, THE ONLY PEOPLE COVERING THE PRESS CONFERENCES WAS THE SPANISH MEDIA. MARRERO: COVERAGE OF THIS ISSUE IN THE SPANISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA WAS VERY INTENSE. "LA OPINION" HAD 10 REPORTERS AT THE TIME, WHICH WAS LOT FOR US. WE HAD AT LEAST 5 OR 6 OF THEM COVERING IMMIGRATION EVERY DAY DURING THIS PERIOD. AND THE ROLE THAT WE HAD WAS NOT ONLY TO PROVIDE THE NEWS BUT BE A RESOURCE FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE IN THE NEW COUNTRY THAT THEY WERE IN. IN A WAY, IT WAS KIND OF AN EDUCATIONAL ROLE WHERE THEY COULD LEARN HOW THIS COUNTRY WORKED, HOW THE POLITICAL SYSTEM WORKED, HOW THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM WORKED, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. WE'RE NOT JUST CATERING TO AN EXILED COMMUNITY OR AN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY BUT ALSO HELPING THEM INTEGRATE INTO THIS SOCIETY. MODERATOR: BUT STAYING WITH YOU FOR A SECOND, "LA OPINION" CAME OUT AND SAID PROPOSITION 187, WHICH IS THE ILLEGAL ALIEN INITIATIVE ON THE BALLOT, MAKES NO SENSE. I HAVEN'T SEEN A NEWSPAPER TAKE SUCH AN AGGRESSIVE ROLE. WHY ARE THEY? HERRERA: WE ARE DEVOTED TO THIS, TO THE IDEA OF INFORMING THE PUBLIC, FIRST OF ALL, OF WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS IF 187 PASSES. AND THE IMPACT THAT IT'S GOING TO HAVE ON EDUCATION FUNDS, PARTICULARLY, AND ON THE WHOLE SOCIAL FABRIC OF THE LATINO COMMUNITY. MODERATOR: OK, I APPRECIATE THAT. [CONVERSATION IN SPANISH] NUÑEZ: I THINK IF IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN FOR THE LABOR MOVEMENT'S INVOLVEMENT, AND IN PARTICULAR, GILBERT CEDILLO, WHO WAS THE HEAD OF THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 660 IN LOS ANGELES, THE BIG MARCH THAT WE HAD IN OCTOBER--ON OCTOBER 16th-- WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. THE ENTIRE LABOR MOVEMENT, THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT THAT THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY REALLY NEEDED, BECAUSE THOSE OF US THAT WERE ORGANIZING THIS MARCH, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY AND THE RESOURCES TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, BUT THE UNIONS DID. MAN 11: OUR HEADQUARTERS WAS AT THE OLD LOCAL 660 OF SEIU. GILBERT CEDILLO WAS THE DIRECTOR OF THAT LOCAL. HE PRETTY MUCH OPENED THE DOORS FOR LABOR AND COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS TO FORM SOMETHING THAT WE CALLED AT THE TIME THE LOS ANGELES ORGANIZING COMMITTEE TO DEFEAT 187. FOR SOME OF US, LOCAL 660 BECAME OUR HOUSE. WOMAN 3: I REMEMBER THOSE MEETINGS. USUALLY THERE WOULD BE, LIKE, IN THE AFTERNOON UNTIL MIDNIGHT. WE WILL GO THERE AND MEET AND PLAN AND FIGURE IT OUT, WHAT THE PROGRAM WAS GONNA BE, WHERE THE RESOURCES WERE GONNA COME, TRYING TO GET FUNDS. THE SLOGAN, FLIERS, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING WAS BEING DONE AT THOSE MEETINGS. YOU KNOW, JUST BASICALLY ALL THE LOGISTICS THAT WAS GONNA TAKE PLACE FOR THIS BIG MARCH. GILBERT CEDILLO: WE WERE ABLE TO, FOR EXAMPLE, IMMEDIATELY GO SET UP MEETINGS WITH RICHARD ALATORRE, WHO, I THINK, WAS HEAD OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. HE...THEN BROUGHT IN THE L.A.P.D. TO SIT WITH US. IT WAS A LITTLE TOUGH INITIALLY BECAUSE SOME OF THE ACTIVISTS AREN'T COMFORTABLE. THEY DON'T HAVE THE CONFIDENCE YET TO SIT DOWN WITH THE L.A.P.D. OR WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND FOR US TO LAY OUT THE GROUND RULES, LAY OUT OUR PLANNING, TO SAY, "LOOK, LET'S FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN WORK TO ACCOMPLISH OUR OBJECTIVE, AND THEN LET'S DO THAT." CRISTINA VAZQUEZ: WE MADE A VERY SIMPLE, GENERIC TURQUOISE ON A WHITE PLACARD. YOU KNOW, OUR MESSAGE WAS VOTE NO ON 187. DE LEON: WE REALLY DIDN'T USE EMAIL THAT MUCH. AND WE HAD NO SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS THAT INSTANTANEOUSLY--[SNAPS FINGERS] YOU COULD JUST SPREAD THE NEWS. IT DIDN'T EXIST. SO WE HAD TO REALLY DO GOOD OLD-FASHIONED ORGANIZING, ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES, GOING TO MAQUILADORAS, LAS FABRICAS, LAS CAMARERAS, HOTEL WORKERS. WE'D GO INTO LOS CAMPOS, LOS FILES, AND GO TO FARMWORKERS AND SAY, "HEY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA ORGANIZE THIS MARCH." MAN 11: IT WAS VERY INTENSE. WE WERE RECRUITING PEOPLE. WE WERE ORGANIZING PEOPLE. WE WERE ORGANIZING PHONE BANKING IN DIFFERENT UNIONS. IWATAKA: A LOT OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND EVEN SMALL BUSINESSES OPENED UP THEIR OFFICES AFTER-HOURS SO PEOPLE COULD PHONE BANK. AND, OF COURSE, WE HAD PEOPLE THAT SPOKE 5 OR 6 LANGUAGES. GUTIERREZ: THIS WAS, LIKE, A MAJOR, MAJOR EFFORT. EVERYBODY INVOLVED AND EVERY SECTOR PARTICIPATED, BUT THAT WAS THANKS TO, YOU KNOW, A GROUP OF ORGANIZERS THAT MANAGE THE EFFORT DAY IN AND DAY OUT. DE LEON: WHEN WE WERE ORGANIZING A MARCH, FOR US, IT WASN'T ABOUT POLITICAL ELECTIONS BECAUSE WE ALWAYS FELT INSTINCTIVELY THAT 187 WAS GOING TO PASS. FOR US, THIS WAS STARTING AND IGNITING A MOVEMENT THAT WOULD GO BEYOND ELECTION DAY. AND IT WAS ABOUT OUR LIVES, IT WAS ABOUT OUR OWN DIGNITY. IT WAS ABOUT OUR OWN SELF-RESPECT AND, ULTIMATELY, ABOUT POLITICAL POWER AND WHO WOULD LEAD THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND MOVE POLICIES THAT BENEFIT ALL INDIVIDUALS. NARRATOR: THE COALITION IN LOS ANGELES, LIKE OTHERS AROUND THE STATE, WAS PLANNING STREET ACTION. 19 DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION, THE MODERN PRO-IMMIGRANT MOVEMENT BROUGHT ABOUT BY PROPOSITION 187 TOOK OVER THE STREETS WITH UNPRECEDENTED FORCE. ANNOUNCER: THIS IS PRIME 9 NEWS AT 8:00, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S MOST HONORED NEWSCAST. DAVE CLARK: WELL, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE MARCHED THROUGH THE STREETS OF L.A. TODAY, MAKING A STATEMENT AGAINST THE CONTROVERSIAL BALLOT MEASURE PROP 187. AS MANY AS 100,000 PEOPLE TURNED OUT SAYING THE SO-CALLED SAVE OUR STATE INITIATIVE WOULD REALLY SINK OUR STATE. [VCR WHIRRS] [REWIND CHATTER, VCR WHIRRS] JOEL OCHOA: THE DAY OF THE MARCH, THE MARCH? UM... DE LEON: OCTOBER 16, 1994. I REMEMBER WAKING UP IN THE MORNING AND THE SENSE OF UNEASINESS, THE SENSE OF NERVOUSNESS. NUÑEZ: WELL, I WAS LIVING IN POMONA AT THE TIME, AND GIL CEDILLO HAD ARRANGED FOR SOMETHING LIKE 45 BUSES TO PICK UP SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE WERE ORGANIZING IN THE INLAND EMPIRE. AND I SHOWED UP AROUND 6:15, AND I SAW PEOPLE LINED UP AROUND AN ENTIRE BLOCK WAITING TO GET ON THESE BUSES. AND THAT SAID TO ME, "WOW. THIS IS PRETTY SERIOUS. WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE AT THIS MARCH." CEDILLO: IT WAS OBVIOUSLY VERY EXCITING. SO MANY PEOPLE COMING TO MY HOUSE BECAUSE WE WERE ALL GOING IN THE MORNING TO GO DOWN TO DOWNTOWN. NUÑEZ: WHEN WE GOT TO THE LOCATION THAT THE MARCH STARTED, WHICH IS A PLACE CALLED CINCO PUNTOS, A VERY FAMOUS STREET CORNER IN BOYLE HEIGHTS. GUTIERREZ: SO I GOT THERE. AND THE FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME IS THE FESTIVE MOOD AND THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH I GOT THERE EARLY, THERE WERE ALREADY CROWDS OF PEOPLE, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. IT WAS HARD TO EVEN GET IN. IT WAS THE IMMIGRANTS, IT WAS THEIR KIDS. IN SOME CASES, IT WAS 3 GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE. NUÑEZ: AND I REMEMBER TELLING JUAN JOSE, "WOW. THIS IS GONNA BE A BIG MARCH." [CHEERING] CEDILLO: HOW DO YOU START A MARCH OF 100,000 PEOPLE OR MORE? DE LEON: BUT WE MADE THAT DECISION, IT'S TIME TO MARCH, IT'S TIME TO MOVE FORWARD. CEDILLO: SO I REMEMBER, I WAS AT THE MEETING POINT, FATHER VILLAGRAN, JUAN JOSE, AND MYSELF. RICHARD ALARCON WAS THERE. AND THEN WE JUST SAID, "OK, WELL, LET'S DO THIS," YOU KNOW! SO WE JUST KIND OF LOCKED ARMS AND STARTED WALKING. AND PEOPLE STARTED JOINING US AND FOLLOWING US. AND THEN IT JUST GREW. [CHEERING] NUÑEZ: SO AS THE MARCH COMMENCED AND AS IT PROCEEDED, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE BEGAN TO JOIN. AND IT WAS FOLKS FROM THE UPPER FLOORS, PEOPLE WAVING AT US, PEOPLE CLAPPING AS WE WERE WALKING BY. THERE WERE PEOPLE COMING OUT OF THEIR HOMES WHO WERE NOT PLANNING ON BEING PART OF THE MARCH, WALK OUT OF THEIR HOMES AND LOOK AT WHAT WE WERE DOING. AND THEN THEY WOULD GO IN, AND THEY WOULD GET READY, AND THEY WOULD COME BACK AND JOIN THE MARCH. AND THIS HAPPENED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE ROUTE. MARCHERS: ...WE'LL FIGHT THE PROPOSITION! CROWD: ...RAZA! [CONTINUES IN SPANISH] VIVA LA RAZA... DE LEON: YOU COULD SEE LITTLE BY LITTLE THE MASSES OF PEOPLE JUST STRETCHING OUT, STRETCHING OUT, STRETCHING OUT. AND AS WE GOT TO MIDPOINT ON CESAR CHAVEZ, I REMEMBER TURNING AROUND. AND MY EYES JUST WIDENED AND MY JAW JUST DROPPED. AND IT WAS STUNNING. IT WAS AWE-INSPIRING TO SEE THE MASS OF PEOPLE, THE SEA OF PEOPLE--MOTHERS, FATHERS, CHILDREN, GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS AND UNCLES, RABBIS, CONGREGATES FROM SYNAGOGUES, YOU KNOW, AND MEMBERS OF LABOR UNIONS, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, KOREAN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS, CHINESE-AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS, AFRICAN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS. JUST TO SEE ALL THIS AND, OF COURSE, THE MAJORITY OF THE FOLKS WERE HARD WORKING MEN AND WOMEN, LATINO IMMIGRANTS. IWATAKI: I FELT REALLY PROUD OF THE ASIAN CONTINGENTS THAT WE BUILT. I THINK WE HAD ASIAN DRUMMERS THERE, TOO. AND SO WE WERE MAKING A LOT OF NOISE, AND WE, YOU KNOW, HAD THE VISIBILITY BECAUSE OF THE BIG BANNER. AND PEOPLE ARE CHEERING. YOU KNOW, BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S FEELING THAT SOLIDARITY. SO IT FELT REALLY GOOD. IT FELT REALLY POWERFUL. VAZQUEZ: AT THAT TIME, I WAS THE POLITICAL AND EDUCATION DIRECTOR. AND WE WERE ABLE TO MOBILIZE MORE THAN 500 WORKERS. OCHOA: WE HAD ABOUT 20,000 UNION MEMBERS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MARCH. PADILLA: IT WAS A LITTLE TIRING CARRYING MY NEPHEW ON MY SHOULDERS THE WHOLE PARADE ROUTE. BUT I WAS THERE WITH MY MOM, I WAS THERE WITH MY SISTER. AND WE WALKED FROM BEGINNING ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF THAT MARCH, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE "L.A. TIMES" BUILDING AND CITY HALL. NUÑEZ: AND WHEN WE GOT TO CITY HALL, WHEN WE GOT ON THE STAGE AND I LOOKED OUT, AND YOU COULD SEE A SEA OF PEOPLE, BLOCKS AND BLOCKS DOWN FROM THE STAGE. VAZQUEZ: I CANNOT DESCRIBE THE MOMENT. IN YOUR HEAD, YOU'RE EXPECTING 5,000 AT THE MOST, AND IT'S THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. AND WE COULDN'T START THE PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY KEEP SAYING, YOU KNOW, "THE MARCH IS JUST 10 BLOCKS AWAY." NUÑEZ: THERE WERE OVER 100,000 PEOPLE IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES. NEVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES HAD THERE BEEN A MARCH THAT HAD MOBILIZED THAT MANY PEOPLE. DURAZO: IT WAS--IT WAS BIG. IT WAS JUST REALLY BIG. THAT'S WHAT REALLY, UM, THAT'S WHAT I REMEMBER THE MOST. MARCHER: HEY, VIVA LA RAZA! [CHEERING] MOLINA: WHAT HAD HAPPENED THAT DAY, WHILE IT WAS MASSIVE AND HUGE AND STRONG, IT ALSO WAS MOSTLY LATINOS. THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE WERE LATINOS CARRYING MEXICAN FLAGS. I WAS HORRIFIED. THAT WAS THE IMAGE THAT LATER ON WOULD BE USED AGAINST US. NUÑEZ: YEAH. I MEAN, I THINK THE CRITICISM OF THE MARCH FOR ALL OF THE MEXICAN FLAGS IS VALID CRITICISM. WHEN YOU HAVE 100,000 PEOPLE, YOU CAN'T CONTROL WHAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA DO. OCHOA: WE DON'T HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. I DON'T HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR BEING MEXICAN. DURAZO: I DIDN'T THINK THERE WAS ANYTHING WRONG WITH SHOWING PRIDE OF OUR HISTORY AND OUR CULTURE AND OUR ROOTS. TAKE THAT OFF THE TABLE AS AN ISSUE TO BE USED AGAINST US. IT WASN'T WORTH THE BATTLE TO DISTRACT US FROM WHAT WAS THE REAL ISSUE. THE REAL ISSUE IS RESPECTING THE HARD WORK OF OUR COMMUNITIES REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY WERE BORN AND WHAT LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK. MAN ON VIDEO: VIVA LA RAZA! LEAL: NOT ONLY I DECIDED TO GO MARCH, MY PARENTS ALSO MADE A DECISION THAT WE WOULD ALL MARCH TOGETHER AS FAMILY. WE COME FROM MEXICO, AND MY PARENTS WERE PART OF THE GENERATION THAT SAW THE REPRESSION OF ANY TYPE OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS. PERHAPS IF PROP 187 WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED, I WOULD HAVE NOT BECOME INTERESTED IN POLITICS OR BECOME POLITICIZED. BUT 187 CHANGED US. IT WAS SEEING MY FAMILY PUSH BACK, THE FEAR THAT THEY HAD OF BECOMING PART OF A POLITICAL MOBILIZATION. [INDISTINCT CHANTING] HERNANDEZ: I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOMENTS WHERE YOU SAY, FINALMENTE! WE'RE AWAKE. WE'RE COMING OUT. WE'RE PUTTING OURSELVES OUT THERE. THIS IS WHO WE ARE. NUÑEZ: WE DIDN'T HAVE A DR. KING LIKE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT HAD. THIS WAS VERY DIFFERENT. >> EL COMPAÑERO, JUAN JOSE GUTIERREZ. [CHEERING] [GUTIERREZ SPEAKING SPANISH] [CHEERING] RICHARD POLANCO: IT IS WRONG, PEOPLE, FOR YOU TO BLAME OUR ECONOMIC ILLS ON THE BACKS OF THE IMMIGRANT WORKER. SHAME ON YOU! [APPLAUSE] ALATORRE: IT IS PETE WILSON THAT IS TAKING AWAY MONEY FOR THE EDUCATION OF OUR CHILDREN, NOT THE IMMIGRANTS. CEDILLO: THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE FOR THE IMMIGRANT WORKER. ACTIVIST: SI, SE PUEDE! SI, SE PUEDE, SI, SE PUEDE... ACTIVIST 2: 187, NO! [CHEERING] NUÑEZ: BUT THE MOST POWERFUL THING WASN'T THE SPEECHES. I REMEMBER LOOKING AROUND AND SEEING HOW PEOPLE BEHAVED THEMSELVES. THAT REALLY, TO ME, WAS THE MESSAGE. IT WAS THE FACES OF ALL OF THESE PEOPLE, THE DIGNITY WITH WHICH THEY CARRIED THEMSELVES. OCHOA: AND, OF COURSE, WE HAVE LEADERS LIKE MIGUEL CONTRERAS, LIKE DOLORES HUERTA, MARIA ELENA DURAZO, GILBERT CEDILLO DELIVERING THE MESSAGE THAT "WE'RE HERE." DE LEON: WHAT WAS SO POWERFUL IS THAT SYMBOLICALLY, YOU HAD THE MARIACHIS. THEY DID THE NATIONAL ANTHEM TO GIVE RESPECT TO THE COUNTRY THAT WE'RE IN, THE COUNTRY THAT WE'RE A PART OF. IT WAS AMAZING. [MARIACHI MUSICIANS PLAYING "STAR-SPANGLED BANNER"] OCHOA: THERE WAS NO INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST US. THERE WAS NO ARRESTS. DE LEON: YOU COULD SEE ALL OF THE L.A.P.D. IN RIOT GEAR WITH THEIR HELMETS AND WITH THEIR BATONS HIDDEN AROUND THE CORNER, AND THEY NEVER ACTUALLY CAUSED ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL WHATSOEVER. IN FACT, I HAVE TO GIVE THEM A LOT OF CREDIT. POLANCO: I'LL NEVER FORGET THE WAVE AND THE SENSE OF PRIDE THAT WE ALL FELT, WE ALL FELT BECAUSE WE KNEW WE WERE TAKING A STAND AND DOING IT FOR THE RIGHT REASON. NUÑEZ: THESE PEOPLE WERE THERE TO SAY, "LOOK, WE DON'T HAVE A VOTE, BUT WE HAVE OUR DIGNITY. WE HAVE OURSELVES. AND WE'RE HERE TO TELL YOU THAT WE'RE NOT A DANGER TO YOU. WE WANT TO BE PART OF THIS AMERICA. WE WANT TO BE PART OF THIS QUILT OF DIVERSITY OF THIS COUNTRY THAT HAS MADE THIS COUNTRY SO GREAT." DE LEON: ALCEN SUS VOCES TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, TO SAY, "I'M A HUMAN BEING, AND I DESERVE DIGNITY." GUTIERREZ: THIS WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. THIS WAS GOING TO MARK A DAY WHERE IN THE FUTURE, PEOPLE WERE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE LATINO COMMUNITY HAD BEEN TO THAT POINT AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY WENT ON TO BECOME AFTER. DURAZO: THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WASN'T JUST GONNA GO AWAY. AND IT WAS UP TO US TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP IT GOING. MAN ON VIDEO: VIVA LA RAZA! CROWD: VIVA! [MAN'S CHANTING CONTINUES] CROWD: VIVA! REPORTER: NOW THAT THE DEMONSTRATION IS OVER HERE AT SERVICE EMPLOYEES UNION IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES AND AT OTHER LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE STATE, THE HARD WORK NOW BEGINS. ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS ARE BEING FILLED OUT BY THE THOUSANDS, AND VOLUNTEERS ARE SIGNING UP, TOO. THE LAST-MINUTE UPHILL CAMPAIGN TO DEFEAT PROPOSITION 187 IS NOW UNDERWAY. REPORTER 2: WHAT ARE THE MOST RECENT POLLS SHOWING ON PROP 187? RICK OLTMAN: THE RECENT POLLS HAVE SHOWN THAT THERE'S BEEN A CLOSING IN THE POLLS, BUT WE'RE STILL LEADING BY 12-14 POINTS. ROSENGARTEN: 187 IS STARTING TO SLIDE. IT IS BELOW 50%. IT WAS ACTUALLY LOSING. TED GREEN: THE SUPPORT FOR PROPOSITION 187 IS PLUMMETING. REPORTER 3: PROPOSITION 187 HAS POLARIZED VOTERS IN THIS STATE WHO ARE EITHER STRONGLY FOR THE MEASURE OR STRONGLY AGAINST IT. OLTMAN: SO WE EXPECT TO SEE THE NUMBERS CLIMBING OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, AND WE EXPECT A WIN BY A HEALTHY MARGIN. BROWN: WILL YOU HELP ME DEFEAT 187? WE CAN DO IT! [CHEERING] SAENZ: WE STILL HELD OUT HOPE, MANY OF US, INCLUDING ME, THAT, ULTIMATELY, VOTERS WOULD SEE THE LIGHT AND REJECT THE INITIATIVE. DIAZ: THAT WAS KIND OF ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WHERE IT WAS HEARTBREAKING BUT NOT SURPRISING. UM, I REMEMBER WE WERE WATCHING THE NEWS ATTENTIVELY. AND IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG TO REALIZE THAT IT WAS GONNA PASS AND THAT IT HAD WIDE SUPPORT. REPORTER: IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS THERE, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE ARE DECLARING GOVERNOR WILSON WITH 60%, BROWN 37% WITH ONLY 19% OF THE PRECINCTS, BUT WE ARE DECLARING GOVERNOR WILSON ELECTED. GO AHEAD, DEBRA. FINISH. DEBRA: GOVERNOR PETE WILSON HAS BEEN PROJECTED AS THE WINNER IN HIS RACE AGAINST KATHLEEN BROWN, A VERY TOUGH RACE. BROWN: TONIGHT WE MUST ACCEPT THE VERDICT OF THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA. REPORTER 2: THE REALITY IS THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAVE TRULY BEEN DEFEATED TONIGHT. WOMAN ON VIDEO: LOSING BY 20 POINTS IS A BIG DEAL. >> 4 MORE YEARS! >> PETE! >> 4 MORE YEARS... WILSON: CALIFORNIANS OF EVERY RACE AND COLOR AND CREED VOTED NOT JUST TO SEND A MESSAGE, BUT THEY VOTED FOR FAIRNESS AND FOR THE RULE OF LAW. [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] DIAZ: I REMEMBER THAT MY MOM WAS SEEING IT, AND SHE WAS FURIOUS, BUT I ALSO SAW THAT THE FEELINGS THAT WERE COMING UP FOR THEM WERE ALSO VALIDATING OF SOMETHING THAT THEY ALWAYS EXPERIENCED. THEY WERE LIKE, "OF COURSE THEY DON'T WANT US HERE. THEY NEVER DID. NOW YOU SEE IT OVERWHELMINGLY PASS." HERNANDEZ: WE WERE JUST STUNNED AND DEVASTATED. IT'S HARD TO DESCRIBE THE MOOD OF THE ROOM OTHER THAN SADNESS. REPORTER 2: ...GONE DOWN WITH HER... MOLINA: BEFORE THAT ELECTION, I ALREADY KNEW WHAT THE OUTCOME WOULD BE. I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD BE IN L.A. COUNTY, AND I DID NOT THINK IT WOULD BE AS WIDE OR AS PRONOUNCED AS IT WAS AT THE END OF THE DAY. SONENSHEIN: IT HAD ONLY ABOUT 1/4 OF LATINO VOTERS SUPPORTING. ASIAN AMERICANS WERE SPLIT. AFRICAN AMERICANS, PROBABLY 40-45% FAVORED PROP 187. WHITE VOTERS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF JEWISH VOTERS AND WHITE LIBERAL VOTERS--MOSTLY DEMOCRATS SUPPORTED PROP 187. IT WAS KIND OF A STRANGE COALITION. SAENZ: IN THE END, THE EXIT POLLING ON ELECTION DAY TOLD US THAT 3/4 OF LATINO VOTERS VOTED NO. SO WE DID GET THE MESSAGE OUT AND CONVINCED THE LATINO COMMUNITY TO VOTE AGAINST IT. IT'S ALSO TRUE THAT A MAJORITY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTERS VOTED AGAINST IT. A MAJORITY OF ASIAN AMERICAN VOTERS VOTED AGAINST IT. SO EVEN THOUGH PROPOSITION 187 HAD 59% OF THE TOTAL VOTE, IT WAS REALLY THE WHITE VOTE THAT GAVE IT THE MARGIN OF VICTORY THAT MADE IT A VICTORIOUS PROPOSITION. HERRERA: THE PASSAGE OF 187, IT WAS AN OUTRAGEOUS EVENT JUST BECAUSE IT MADE OUT OF THE MOST, UH...PERHAPS THE WEAKEST SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION, THE SCAPEGOAT FOR ALL THE ILLS OF CALIFORNIA, AND WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES, SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES IN 1995 THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT. SAENZ: WHERE THERE WAS A REAL THREAT THAT THE LAW COULD BE IMMEDIATELY IMPLEMENTED, WE KNEW THAT THERE WAS MUCH CONCERN AND FEAR. WILSON: PEOPLE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A DEMOCRACY, AND THAT THE PEOPLE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DECIDE QUESTIONS PEACEABLY ON THE BALLOT, AND THAT THOSE THAT ARE IN THE MINORITY, THOSE THAT LOSE SIMPLY HAVE TO ACCEPT THE WILL OF THE MAJORITY. AND WE CANNOT SIMPLY CHOOSE TO OBEY ONLY THE LAWS THAT WE LIKE. REPORTER: THE DAY AFTER THE ELECTION, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR PETE WILSON SAID HE INTENDED TO DO. WILSON: TODAY I AM GOING TO TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO MAKE POSSIBLE ENFORCEMENT OF PROPOSITION 187. OUR NATION'S IMMIGRATION LAWS MUST BE ENFORCED. SAENZ: WE SAW IN THE DAYS AFTER THE ELECTION THAT MANY KIDS DIDN'T GO TO SCHOOL OUT OF A FEAR THAT THEY OR THEIR PARENTS WOULD BE REPORTED AS A RESULT OF PROPOSITION 187. WE KNEW THAT FOLKS WERE DEFERRING OR AVOIDING APPOINTMENTS THAT THEY HAD. REPORTER: RIGHT AFTER LAST WEEK'S ELECTION, PATIENTS STARTED BREAKING APPOINTMENTS AT MANY CLINICS. AND THAT COULD POSE A SERIOUS HEALTH THREAT WITH DISEASE SPREADING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY. [WOMAN SPEAKING SPANISH] WOMAN, TRANSLATED: I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE IN ANYONE. WE'VE BEEN THE SCAPEGOAT IN THIS SITUATION. SAENZ: ALL WE KNEW WAS THAT THIS LAW WAS GOING TO BE PASSED BY A HUGE MAJORITY OF ALL OF CALIFORNIA'S VOTERS. AND THAT WAS CERTAINLY DIFFICULT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE DID HAVE TO DO THAT LAST-MINUTE WORK AND PREPARE TO POTENTIALLY BE IN COURT THE VERY NEXT DAY IN CHALLENGING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSITION. DIAZ: I REMEMBER MY DAD SAT THERE. AND HE SAID, "OK, IT PASSED, BUT IT'S NOT GONNA STAY--IT'S NOT GONNA STAY THIS WAY. PEOPLE ARE GONNA FIGHT, AND IT'S NOT GONNA STAY LIKE THIS." HERNANDEZ: HEY, IF THIS DOESN'T WAKE UP OUR COMMUNITY, NOTHING WILL. AND THIS IS THE TIME FOR US TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR DESTINY. AND THIS IS BUT A BUMP IN THE ROAD. THERE ARE VIABLE, LEGAL MEANS TO CHALLENGE THIS LAW. THIS IS THE BEGINNING. SAENZ: SO MALDEF WAS INVOLVED IN THE ONLY LAWSUIT FILED THE DAY AFTER THE CHALLENGE TO EVERY PROVISION OF PROPOSITION 187. AND THAT PREPARATION BEGAN WELL--MONTHS BEFORE. SIMULTANEOUSLY, OTHER LAWYERS AT MALDEF WERE INVOLVED IN PREPARING A LAWSUIT TO FILE IN STATE COURT. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK GOING ON SEPARATE AND APART FROM THE DEBATE, AND IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ELECTION, A LOT OF WORK GOING ON AT MALDEF AND MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO PREPARE LEGAL CHALLENGES TO THE INITIATIVE THE VERY NEXT DAY. TV HOST: WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE LAW ITSELF? ERWIN CHEMERINSKY: LAWSUITS HAVE BEEN FILED IN BOTH STATE COURT AND IN FEDERAL COURT CHALLENGING PROPOSITION 187. CONNIE CHUNG: IT'S A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK NOW SINCE CALIFORNIA VOTERS APPROVED A BALLOT MEASURE THAT DENIES ALL BUT EMERGENCY HEALTH TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. IT'S PROPOSITION 187... SAENZ: AS WEEKS AND MONTHS WENT BY, ADDITIONAL LAWSUITS WERE FILED TO CHALLENGE DIFFERENT PROVISIONS OF PROPOSITION 187. [REPORTER SPEAKING SPANISH] JACKIE GOLDBERG: BUT IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO DENY CHILDREN A RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION. IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO DENY PEOPLE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, AND IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO ENFORCE THESE PROVISIONS. AND THAT IS WHY THE CITY WILL TRY WITH MANY, MANY OTHERS TO CHALLENGE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS LAW... REPORTER 2: IN A LOS ANGELES FEDERAL COURTROOM, CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYERS AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA CLASHED OVER WHETHER PROPOSITION 187 IS CONSTITUTIONAL. TODAY IN COURT, LAWYERS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS ARGUED THAT PROPOSITION 187 WAS AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL MEASURE WHICH WOULD BE ESPECIALLY HARD ON CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WHO ARE SICK. FEDERAL JUDGE MATTHEW BYRNE ISSUED A RESTRAINING ORDER WHICH WILL PREVENT CALIFORNIA FROM ENFORCING PARTS OF THE PROPOSITION. SAENZ: THE MAIN CLAIM WAS PREEMPTION, BUT THERE WERE OTHER CLAIMS. YOU HAD TO HAVE OTHER CLAIMS, INCLUDING EQUAL PROTECTION, INCLUDING PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS. HERNANDEZ: SO 187 NEVER WENT INTO EFFECT. REPORTER: U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE MARIANA PFAELZER STRUCK DOWN MAJOR PORTIONS OF PROP 187. IMMIGRANTS RIGHTS ADVOCATES APPLAUDED THE DECISION. VIBIANA ANDRADE: NO SCHOOL IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA WILL BE ABLE TO INTERROGATE A CHILD, THAT NO SCHOOL WILL BE ABLE TO MARK A CHILD. RAMONA ANN RIPSTON: NOBODY IS TO BE DENIED HEALTH CARE, NOBODY IS TO BE DENIED EDUCATION OR ANY OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES. HERNANDEZ: THE MESSAGE IS THAT THIS IS A LONG WAY FROM OVER. AND IT'LL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE THIS PROPOSITION TAKES INTO EFFECT, IF AT ALL. SAENZ: AND THAT CERTAINLY CREATED A GREAT SENSE OF CALM IN THE COMMUNITY. [REPORTER SPEAKING SPANISH] GLENN SPENCER: PROPOSITION 187 IS LAW. IF THOSE WHO ARE CHARGED WITH ADMINISTERING OUR LAWS REFUSE TO DO SO, THE PEOPLE WILL REPLACE THEM WITH REPRESENTATIVES WHO WILL. [CHEERING] PROP 187 SUPPORTER: IT LITERALLY IS HIGH TREASON. THIS IS LITERALLY URINATING ON THE GRAVES OF OUR VETERANS AND OUR ANCESTORS WHO CAME HERE LEGALLY. [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] LEGALLY, LEGALLY, LEGALLY! [SOUND OF CHEERING FADES] NARRATOR: WHILE THE LAWSUIT PREVENTED MOST OF PROP 187 FROM TAKING EFFECT, THE CULTURE WAR OVER IMMIGRATION DRAMATICALLY INCREASED CIVIC PARTICIPATION BY LATINOS. ALTHOUGH NOT THE INTENTION OF 187'S PROPONENTS, THIS PROFOUNDLY CHANGED THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE OF CALIFORNIA. ALEX PADILLA: IN 1994, WHEN 187 WAS ON THE BALLOT, MY PARENTS HAD BEEN HERE FOR NOT QUITE 30 YEARS. NEVER HAD THE INTENTION OR LET ALONE THE URGENCY OF BECOMING CITIZENS. AND I THINK 187 WAS A SLAP IN THE FACE, NOT JUST A WAKE-UP CALL. OCHOA: YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO VOTE IF YOU'RE NOT A U.S. CITIZEN, BUT YOU CAN PARTICIPATE. YOU CAN ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO VOTE. THE ESSENCE OF DEMOCRACY IS TO PARTICIPATE. WE WERE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS, NOT JUST TO VOTE. THAT'S WHAT WE WERE DOING IN THOSE DAYS. VAZQUEZ: I THINK WE STARTED THE PROGRAMS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE MARCH, LOOKING AT REGISTERING PEOPLE TO VOTE. AND IF YOU WERE NOT A CITIZEN, WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO BECOME A CITIZEN AND VOTE? SO WE STARTED SCHOOLS, A LEGAL CLINIC WITHIN THE UNION THAT HELPED PEOPLE BECOME CITIZENS. AND PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THAT THEY HAVE TO BECOME U.S. CITIZENS, THAT THEY HAVE TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT, THAT THEY HAVE TO VOTE, THAT THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY THAT WE WERE GONNA BE ABLE TO STOP WHAT WAS GOING ON, ALL THE ATTACKS THAT WERE HAPPENING TO US. SONENSHEIN: SO IT WAS THE PASSAGE OF 187 THAT LED TO A MASSIVE MOBILIZATION OF LATINO VOTERS. ONE MILLION NEW LATINO VOTERS ENTERED THE VOTING ROLLS, ACCORDING TO THE FIELD ORGANIZATION IN THE REMAINING DECADE OF THE 1990s. SO IN VERY LARGE NUMBERS, PEOPLE WERE PREPARED TO THINK OF THIS AS A PARTY ISSUE. GUERRA: AND THE LATINO COMMUNITY WAS TYPICALLY FRACTURED, MEANING IT WAS PUT INTO DIFFERENT DISTRICTS AS A SMALL SLIVER, AND IT COULD NEVER ELECT A LATINO DIRECTLY. AND AS A DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT OCCURS AND MORE AND MORE LATINOS START TO COME OF AGE, START TO REGISTER, ARE U.S. CITIZENS, ET CETERA, THERE'S A NEED TO CREATE MORE DISTRICTS. BUT THAT BECOMES VERY POLITICAL. YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THAT. AND YOU SEE MORE AND MORE LATINOS BEING ELECTED, ALONG WITH AFRICAN AMERICANS. SONENSHEIN: AND WITH THIS NEW LATINO ELECTORATE, IN 1996, PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN STATE ELECTIONS, BUT IN 1998, IT REALLY HIT ITS HIGH POINT. THINK HOW QUICK THAT IS, BY THE WAY, BETWEEN 1994 AND 1998. [VCR WHIRRS] [FAST FORWARD CHATTER] [VCR WHIRRS] DAVE McELHATTON: THE RACE FOR GOVERNOR IS HEATING UP AS DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE GRAY DAVIS SPRINTS AHEAD WITH A STUNNING NEW LEAD. HANK PLANTE: THIS IS A COMMANDING LEAD BY GRAY DAVIS-- 14-POINT LEAD OVER DAN LUNGREN. IT'S HIS BIGGEST LEAD EVER SINCE THIS ALL BEGAN. DAVIS' LEAD IS SO STRONG NOW THAT MANY OTHER DEMOCRATS DOWN THE TICKET ARE NOW COUNTING ON SOME CARRYOVER VOTES FROM DAVIS' STRENGTH. REPORTER: NOW THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER PROP 187 IS OVER. GOVERNOR DAVIS HAS SIGNED A DEAL WITH CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS THAT EFFECTIVELY KILLS THE VOTER-APPROVED MEASURE. GRAY DAVIS: WE HAVE RESOLVED A DIVISIVE WEDGE ISSUE IN A WAY THAT IS FAIR TO THE VOTERS, CONSTITUTION, AND THE LAW. REPORTER 2: THE AGREEMENT MAY END THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER PROP 187, BUT DON'T EXPECT THE CONTROVERSY TO FADE ANYTIME SOON. [VCR WHIRRS] [COMPUTER CHIMES] DE LEON: GOOD MORNING TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. WE'RE GONNA START OUR PRESS CONFERENCE. FIRST OF ALL... PRIOR TO THE PROPOSITION 187, I HAD NEVER FATHOMED THE THOUGHT THAT I'D EVER BECOME A POLITICIAN. IN THE RECENT YEARS, CALIFORNIA HAS MADE TREMENDOUS EFFORTS TO BRING THE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT POPULATION OUT OF THE SHADOWS AND INTO THE FABRIC OF OUR SOCIETY. AND THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY. PROP 187'S VITRIOLIC LANGUAGE IS STILL ON OUR CALIFORNIA BOOKS. AND ONE OF MY FIRST ACTS AS PRESIDENT OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE WAS TO REMOVE ALL THE RECORDS OF PROPOSITION 187. DE LEON: SB 396 WILL REMOVE ALL UNCONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS OF PROPOSITION 187 FROM CALIFORNIA CODES SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AND AWAY FROM THE RACIAL WEDGE POLITICS THAT ONCE DIVIDED OUR GREAT STATE... DE LEON, VOICE-OVER: THOSE WORDINGS DIDN'T HAVE ANY TEETH, ANY LEGAL TEETH BEHIND IT. THEY WERE STILL SYMBOLICALLY PART OF OUR STATE CODES, AND THAT'S WHY IT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT WE STRIKE IT. AND IT WAS A SURREAL YET VERY POWERFUL MOMENT FOR ME. DE LEON: CALIFORNIA HAS A LONG, TROUBLED HISTORY WITH MINORITY GROUPS, BUT IT HAS TAKEN AFFIRMATIVE, POSITIVE, PROACTIVE STEPS TO REPEAL AND APOLOGIZE FOR PAST DISCRIMINATORY LAWS. [REPORTER SPEAKING SPANISH] PADILLA: WHERE CALIFORNIA IS TODAY AND HOW PEOPLE VIEW CALIFORNIA TODAY IS A DIRECT RESULT OF HOW OUR COMMUNITY HAS RESPONDED TO PROPOSITION 187. A HUGE DIFFERENCE, AND YOU SEE IT NOT JUST IN TERMS OF OUR REPRESENTATION IN THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, IN THE LEGISLATURE, IN COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENTS UP AND DOWN THE STATE BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, BY THE POLICIES THAT ARE PRIORITIZED AND PASSED BECAUSE WE ARE NOW MORE INVOLVED AT ALL LEVELS OF POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT IN THE STATE. [REPORTER 2 SPEAKING SPANISH] MAN ON VIDEO: THE FINANCIAL MEANS SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE THEIR EDUCATION. STUDENT: IN THIS SOCIETY, THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS EDUCATION. NUÑEZ: WE'RE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON AN HISTORIC EXPEDITION HERE IN CALIFORNIA TO CURB GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND BE A LEADER IN THE WORLD. REPORTER 3: STATE LEGISLATORS ARE WINDING DOWN THE SUMMER SESSION BUT NOT BEFORE PASSING THE CONTROVERSIAL CALIFORNIA DREAM ACT. REPORTER 4: CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN RECENTLY SIGNED INTO LAW THE ABILITY FOR UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS TO HAVE ACCESS TO STATE PUBLIC FUNDS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. REPORTER 5: ...GOVERNOR APPROVED AB 60, WHICH ALLOWS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES TO BE ISSUED TO THOSE IN THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY IN AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE SAFETY ON THE STATE'S ROADS. FEMALE OFFICIAL: BY SIGNING THIS BILL, CALIFORNIA REMAINS A GLOBAL LEADER ON CLIMATE CHANGE. REPORTER 6: GOVERNOR BROWN TODAY SIGNED NEW LEGISLATION INTO LAW DRAMATICALLY INCREASING THE STATE'S CLIMATE CHANGE GOALS. REPORTER 7: A LANDMARK LEGISLATION SIGNED IN CALIFORNIA MAKING IT A SANCTUARY STATE. DE LEON: WE WILL PROTECT THOSE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO MAKING CALIFORNIA THE SIXTH-LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD. NUÑEZ: IT DIDN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY. THE MOVEMENT IN 1994 AGAINST PETE WILSON AND AGAINST PROPOSITION 187, I BELIEVE, REALLY WAS THE TURNING POINT AND THE CATALYST TO MOVE CALIFORNIA FROM WHERE IT WAS, WHICH WAS A VERY CONSERVATIVE STATE, TO WHERE IT IS TODAY, WHICH IS THE MOST PROGRESSIVE STATE IN THE COUNTRY. PADILLA: IN CALIFORNIA, THERE ARE 186 PARTISAN OFFICES, WHICH MEANS WHEN YOU RUN AS A CANDIDATE, YOU HAVE TO IDENTIFY AS EITHER A REPUBLICAN OR A DEMOCRAT OR SOME OTHER POLITICAL PARTY. IN 1994, OF THESE 186, 50% WERE HELD BY DEMOCRATS, 50% WERE HELD BY REPUBLICANS. YOU FAST-FORWARD TO 2019-2020, 80% ARE NOW HELD BY DEMOCRATS AND 20% ARE NOW HELD BY REPUBLICANS. YOU COULD SEE THE DRAMATIC CHANGE. NOT ONLY LATINOS, NOT ONLY ASIANS BUT AFRICAN AMERICANS, WORKING PEOPLE, WHITES, YOUNG PEOPLE DO NOT FORGIVE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY FOR WHAT THEY TRIED TO DO TO THIS GREAT STATE. PASTOR: SO CALIFORNIA HAS MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS, BUT WE'VE STILL GOT A LOT TO DO. WE SHOULD BE VERY AWARE OF THE SHORTCOMINGS THAT WE'VE GOT. SAENZ: THE LATINO COMMUNITY, IN PARTICULAR. AS PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL OF MALDEF TODAY, I KNOW THAT OUR LATINO COMMUNITY DOES NOT HAVE THE REPRESENTATION THAT IT SHOULD HAVE IN LEADERSHIP IN THE CORPORATE SECTOR, IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR, IN THE MEDIA SECTOR. SO WE HAVE CHALLENGES NOT JUST FOR THOSE OF US IN CALIFORNIA TODAY BUT FOR THOSE THROUGHOUT THE NATION WHO ARE FACING UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF FEAR INSPIRED BY ANTI-IMMIGRANT LIES AND RHETORIC. LACAYO: IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE, UNFORTUNATELY, PROP 187 BECAME THE BLUEPRINT FOR REALLY HORRENDOUS ANTI-LATINO POLICY. OFFICIAL: ON THIS VOTE, THE YEAS WERE 239, THE NAYS WERE 182. THE BILL IS AGREED TO. THE BILL IS PASSED WITHOUT OBJECTION. [REPORTER SPEAKING SPANISH] REPORTER 2: IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, LATINO IMMIGRANTS MARCHING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER. IT WAS KNOWN AS LA GRAN MARCHA, "THE GREAT MARCH." REPORTER 3: MORE ACTION IS EXPECTED TO COME ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS THE BILL IS DEBATED IN CONGRESS. REPORTER 4: THE SUN IS HOT IN ARIZONA, ALL WEEK PUSHED AND PULLED BY OPPONENTS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE TOUGHEST ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW IN THE COUNTRY. THE LAW PASSED WITH UNANIMOUS SUPPORT FROM REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS. JAN BREWER: IT REPRESENTS WHAT'S BEST FOR ARIZONA. RUSSELL PEACE: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. REPORTER 5: ALABAMA'S TOUGH NEW IMMIGRATION LAW WENT INTO EFFECT TODAY. MO BROOKS: I'LL DO ANYTHING SHORT OF SHOOTING THEM BECAUSE ILLEGAL ALIENS NEED TO QUIT TAKING JOBS FROM AMERICAN CITIZENS. REPORTER 6: GOVERNOR ROBERT BENTLEY PROMISES ENFORCEMENT WILL BEGIN RIGHT AWAY. ROBERT BENTLEY: IT IS A TOUGH BILL. IT IS THE TOUGHEST BILL IN THE COUNTRY, BUT WE WANTED A TOUGH BILL. SAENZ: THE LEGAL CASE AGAINST 187 HAS ESTABLISHED THE BASIS FOR CHALLENGING SO MANY ANTI-IMMIGRANT LAWS THROUGHOUT THE 25 YEARS SINCE THEN. SO IT WAS IMPORTANT TO PREVENT 187 FROM BEING REPLICATED IN OTHER STATES. CEDILLO: WE ARE IN A VERY UNROMANTIC MOMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY--RACISM, ANTI-IMMIGRANT HYSTERIA, NATIVISM IS JUST AT A HIGH LEVEL, ONE OF ITS HIGHEST LEVELS. IT'S OFFENSIVE, IT'S OBSCENE. MAN ON VIDEO: GO BACK TO MEXICO. REPORTER: 15 TO 20 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN A MASS SHOOTING IN EL PASO. REPORTER 2: THE SHOOTER DESCRIBES HIMSELF AS A WHITE NATIONALIST. REPORTER 3: EXPRESSING ANTI-IMMIGRATION VIEWS. OFFICIAL ON VIDEO: THIS WAS A HATE CRIME. RAQUEL CETZ: CURRENTLY AS WE SPEAK, WE HAVE REFUGEE PEOPLE RUNNING AND FLEEING FROM VIOLENCE. WE HAVE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES STUCK IN DETENTION CENTERS. REPORTER: CAGES WITH CHAIN-LINK FENCES. REPORTER 2: ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY CALLING FOR PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN TO BE SEPARATED IF THEY CROSSED THE BORDER ILLEGALLY. PASTOR: RIGHT NOW, IN MANY WAYS, THE UNITED STATES IS GOING THROUGH WHAT CALIFORNIA WENT THROUGH IN THE EARLY 1990s-- DEMOGRAPHIC DISTANCE AND ANXIETY, ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY AND THE SEARCH FOR SCAPEGOATS AND THE KIND OF POLITICS OF OPPORTUNISM THAT DON'T BUILD POLITICAL STRENGTH TO REALLY SUSTAIN. ACTIVIST: WE'RE STANDING UP. WE'RE STANDING UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT FOR OUR PARENTS, FOR OUR COMMUNITIES, FOR OUR CHILDREN. WE'RE GONNA KEEP GOING, AND WE'RE GONNA KEEP FIGHTING. WELLS: WE HAVE COME HERE TO SEE TO IT THAT THIS NEW INITIATIVE, "SAVE OUR STATE," NEVER PASSES THROUGH. EMMA GONZALEZ: FOR THOSE WHO STILL CAN'T COMPREHEND BECAUSE THEY REFUSE TO, FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES BEFORE IT'S SOMEONE ELSE'S JOB. [EXHALES] CETZ: THE PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS BE HERE TO RISE UP AND SPEAK. JUST AS THEY DID 25 YEARS AGO, HERE WE ARE TODAY STILL CONTINUING, LIKE, THAT FIGHT OF OUR HUMAN RIGHTS OVERALL AND OUR HUMANITY. REPORTER: ORGANIZED BY THE BLACK STUDENT UNION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. [INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS] REPORTER 2: MINNEAPOLIS HAS BECOME A BEACON. PASTOR: THE ROUTE AHEAD FOR AMERICA SHOULD PROBABLY BE THE ROUTE THAT WE TOOK HERE IN CALIFORNIA TO MOVE PAST THE RACIAL ANIMUS THAT IS GRIPPING THE NATION RIGHT NOW. [LOUD STATIC] COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCER: THEY KEEP COMING. COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCER 2: OVER 60,000 WERE FOUND TO BE HARDENED CRIMINALS. THIS IS A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE. COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCER 3: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS HURTING AMERICA. THE CRIME, THE COST. BEVIN SAYS NO TO SANCTUARY CITIES. SUSANA MARTINEZ: CRIMINALS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WEAK LAWS, LIKE GIVING DRIVER'S LICENSES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. AND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT FENCE, IT'S THE MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. WHEN CRIME SPILLS OVER, I PROSECUTE. KEMP: I GOT A BIG TRUCK, JUST IN CASE I NEED TO ROUND UP CRIMINAL ILLEGALS AND TAKE 'EM HOME MYSELF. IF YOU WANT A POLITICALLY INCORRECT CONSERVATIVE, THAT'S ME. YUP, I JUST SAID THAT. [STATIC] ANNOUNCER: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION COMMUNITY INITIATIVES FUND; LA PLAZA DE CULTURA Y ARTES EASTSIDE ARTS INITIATIVE; WEINGART FOUNDATION; AND THE ELI AND EDYTHE BROAD FOUNDATION.