The rise of Proposition 187 in California recalls Ernest Hemingway’s oft-cited passage in “The Sun Also Rises,” about how the fortunes of the novel’s main characters changed — gradually, then suddenly.
Increased immigration from Latin America and Asia remade the face of the state but especially Southern California during the 1970s and 1980s. Many longtime residents seethed, but politicians largely remained silent, even in the wake of a 1986 amnesty signed by President Reagan that legalized over 3 million undocumented immigrants, more than half of which resided in the Golden State.
Everything changed with Harold Ezell and Alan Nelson, two immigration officials who used their deep connections with legislators and local activists to plant the seeds for what eventually became Proposition 187. Their efforts finally sprouted in late 1993, just as California faced its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and Gov. Pete Wilson faced a tough reelection campaign.
Suddenly, illegal immigration became the issue in California.
