IMMIGRANT CARE: Is Davis Playing It Smart on Prop. 187?
Several dailies and columnists weigh in on the case of Proposition 187. Here's what they are saying:
- Writing in today's Los Angeles Times, former member of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform member and syndicated columnist Richard Estrada says the "storm over Prop. 187 misses the nuance." He argues that if the government addressed immigration policy -- rather than immigrant policy -- there would be no need "to confront the netherworld of immigrant policy." Neglect of immigration policy led to Prop. 187, according to Estrada, who asserts that any political administration that "wink[s] at illegal immigration while calling for an end to health and educational benefits for the families of those newcomers is suspect" (4/27).
- Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters writes that the most likely outcome of the mediation process will be "an appellate-court blessed settlement that would leave Proposition 187 largely inoperative and thus take Davis off the hook." And "if Davis can kill Proposition 187 without leaving too many fingerprints or paying a political penalty, it will be a very neat feat" (4/26).
- In yesterday's Los Angeles Times, Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo (D) and Juan Jose Gutierrez, executive director of One-Stop Immigration and Education Centers, weigh in on Davis' strategy, saying his decision will move the state, "in the most constructive way, beyond the impasse that has plagued state politics for the last five years." Initiative 187 was "a backlash against immigrant communities," and Davis's decision prevents a "counter-backlash." They conclude: "We need political leadership that neutralizes raw dispute, while still tackling the pressing concerns that affect us all. Medication, not litigation, achieves this goal" (4/26)