Timelines

Migration is a natural part of living systems, and human history is no exception. Yet it remains one of the most debated public issues of our time.

Both people and borders move. Who is allowed to move, and who is granted rights, lies at the heart of how nations define belonging. In Germany and the United States alike, these debates have been deeply intertwined with evolving ideas of race and ethnicity.

These timelines trace how citizenship and belonging have been constructed, challenged, and redefined through laws, social movements, global events, and cultural works — and how those histories continue to shape the present.

1994

California Denies Public Services to Undocumented Immigrants

California’s Proposition 187, dubbed the "Save Our State" (SOS) initiative by supporters, was a ballot initiative aimed at prohibiting undocumented immigrants and their children from accessing the state's social welfare services and public schools, including its public colleges and universities.

Voted into law during the 1994 general elections, the proposition’s widespread voter support reflected the rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in the 1990s. The law was immediately blocked by a state injunction and became the subject of a multi-year court battle that culminated in a 1997 federal court ruling that found Proposition 187 unconstitutional. Yet, Proposition 187 was precedent setting: it marked the first time that immigration legislation was passed at a state rather than federal level. Since its passage in 1994, several other states have moved to police undocumented immigration (see also: Punishment Increases for Undocumented Migrants, 1996). Additionally, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 enacted aspects of its agenda at the federal level.

The seal of the great state of California is now stamped on the death certificate of Proposition 187

- Mark Rosenbaum, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/cas-anti-immigrant-proposition-187-voided-ending-states-five-year-battle-aclu-rights?redirect=immigrants-rights/cas-anti-immigrant-proposition-187-voided-ending-states-five-year-battle-aclu-righ

United States

Sources

CA’s Anti-Immigrant Proposition 187 Is Voided, Ending State’s Five-Year Battle with ACLU, Rights Groups. American Civil Liberties Union. July 29, 1999. Date accessed: September 12, 2015.
Gebe Martinez. Learning from Proposition 187. Immigration News. Center for American Progress. May 5, 2010. Date accessed: September 12, 2015.

Additional Resources

George Lipsitz. The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Daniel Ho Sang. Racial propositions: Ballot initiatives and the making of postwar California. California: University of California Press.

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