The Immigrant Rights Movement in California 1994 -2014

Board of Education of City of L.A. Committee of the Whole

September 16 2014

Proposition 187 (Save Our State Initiative)

n Law enforcement collaboration with immigration authorities.

n Government agency employees to report undocumented immigrants to INS.

n Cut off many health & social services to undocumented immigrants and children.

n Deny public education to undocumented children or children of undocumented parents.

Proposition 187

On November 8, 1994, California voters approved the proposition by a wide margin: 59% to 41%

Campaign Against Prop 187

Coalition & Alliance Building

n  Immigrant Rights n Labor n  Inter-faith n Community groups n Youth n Others

The politics of California's Proposition 187 in one chart

Gov. Brown repeals unenforced

sections of Prop. 187

Proposition 227

n The bill's intention was to educate Limited English Proficient students in a rapid, one-year program.

n Passed with a margin of 61% to 39%.

Proposition 209 (California Civil Rights Initiative)

Amended the state constitution to prohibit state governmental institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, specifically in the areas of public employment, public contracting, and public education.

Immigrant Rights Movement

Brian Chang, LAT, 5/1/06 Damon Winter, LAT, 5/1/06

Robert Gauthier, LA Times 5/1/2006

California Dream Act

n  A combination of three bills – AB 540, AB 130, and AB 131

n  They allow children who were brought into the US under

the age of 16 without proper visas/immigration documentation who have attended school on a regular basis and otherwise meet in-state tuition and GPA requirements to apply for student financial aid benefits.

n  Statewide movement of young leaders that led to the passage of these bills.

Driver’s License n  1994 - Republican Gov. Pete Wilson signed a law

requiring applicants to prove they were legal immigrants and present a valid Social Security number to the DMV.

n  Last year, AB 60 (the Safe and Responsible

Drivers Act) was signed into law.

n  AB 60 would allow the use of a federal individual taxpayer identification number plus other documentation deemed appropriate by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to apply for a license.

Trust Act

Prohibits local law enforcement from turning over individuals to immigration authorities or detaining individuals under an immigration hold if they have not been charged with or convicted of a serious criminal offense.

California Lawmakers Vote To Roll

Back Prop 227 Bilingual Education Ban

State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) authored a bill that would put a ballot measure before voters in November 2016 to overturn key portions of Proposition 227.

AB 263 Immigration-Related Retaliation

Protects workers who complain either orally or in writing about unpaid wages against employer retaliation and entitles workers to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages.

AB 263 Unlawful Immigration-Related Practices

n Threatening to call or contacting immigration authorities;

n Threatening to file or filing a false police report;

n Requesting new or different documents than required by federal immigration law for employment purposes

SB 666 Employment: Retaliation

§  Punishes employers who retaliate against workers based on citizenship or immigration status with a civil fine of up to $10,000 and suspension or revocation of their business licenses.

§  Lawyer can lose license to practice if makes any threat to report immigration status of someone (or their relative) because person is involved in a legal action

Pressing issues in L.A. today

n Wage theft – LA is the wage theft capitol of the country. $26.2 million per week are stolen from low-wage workers whose annual earnings are below poverty level.

n Los Angeles – biggest gap between rich and the poor than any city.

n Los Angeles – 28% of 3.8 million residents live in poverty.