California could cut its massive revenue shortfall by 25 percent—about $11 billion—simply by denying services to millions of illegal immigrants.
That would mean halting welfare, public education, health insurance and other state benefits for all of its undocumented aliens.
Some 59 percent of California voters—including 31 percent of Hispanics—supported Proposition 187 in 1994.
The ballot initiative effectively blunted border trespassers, but was declared unconstitutional by a federal district court in 1996.
A similar effort in Texas in the 1980s to deny public education to illegal aliens was nullified by the U.S. Supreme Court because the state couldn’t prove that undocumented students were a financial burden to taxpayers.
California, however, can document the financial burden of its illegals and should challenge the district court finding on Proposition 187. (24 AUGUST 2003)
