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2003-12-25 -- Worse health and healthcare for California immigrants, but new Prop 187 pushed

Health gaps for elderly California immigrants and minorities.

New Prop 187 being launched, denying health and other services to
undocumented immigrants.

(Readers will perhaps remember thousands of health workers and
teachers who signed pledges to disobey Prop 187 if it became law. This
included several hundred at San Francisco General Hospital.)

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Boston Globe, December 25, 2003


Health care gaps for elderly California immigrants and minorities.

By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press, 12/25/2003

LOS ANGELES -- For years, Miguel Salazar Castell paid $40 a week at
the  county clinic to have his blood sugar tested and collect a new
supply of  pills to control his diabetes.

Without insurance, the 64-year-old auto mechanic counted on the visits
to stay healthy so he could support his two sons, three stepchildren,
and three nephews by working seven days a week.

But one night last year, just after Thanksgiving, Castell awoke in a
drenching sweat, too dizzy to even stand up. His blood sugar had
plummeted, and he lapsed into a diabetic shock.

Because he did not have insurance, the local emergency room sent
Castell  90 miles away to another hospital, where he eventually stayed
10 days.  He received in-home nursing care for three more months,
ringing up  $60,000 in bills he cannot pay.

Castell, who recently turned 65, now has coverage under Medicare and
tests his blood sugar daily with a portable monitor -- something he
said  could have prevented his earlier crisis.

"I was getting pills, but I never took insulin shots," he said. "They
never gave me a monitor. They just told me take more pills, take this
pill, take that pill."

Castell's situation is not unusual among California's Hispanic
seniors.

According to a recent study by UCLA's Center for Public Policy, the
state's Hispanic elderly reported that they are less healthy and have
less access to basic preventive health care than whites in their age
group.

Nearly 45 percent of Hispanic seniors said they were in poor or fair
health, while nearly 50 percent had never been screened for colon
cancer  and 45 percent had not had a flu shot in the past year.

Asians and blacks also reported receiving less preventive care than
whites in their age group. About four in 10 respondents in the black
and  Asian categories said they were in poor or fair health.

In contrast, only one-quarter of white seniors considered themselves
unhealthy and two-thirds reported receiving flu shots and colon cancer
screening.

The Oct. 28 study used 10,000 responses from the 2001 California
Health  Interview Survey and 2000 US Census data to compile
information about  the health practices of older Californians, broken
down by race,  economic status, and amount of insurance coverage.

Dr. Steven Wallace, the study's lead author, said he was not surprised
to find that Hispanic seniors and those with limited English received
far less preventive health care.

Many Hispanic seniors do not seek out free flu shots, annual exams,
and  diabetes screening because they do not speak fluent English, do
not have  insurance, or do not believe the services are intended for
them, said  Wallace, associate director of UCLA's Center for Public
Policy.

"Latinos consistently showed the worst pattern of access to health
services," he said. "A lot of the data that came out really showed the
importance of trying to improve the access to care."

Black and Asian seniors reported similar health care experiences,
although Asians were more likely to get flu shots than other minority
groups.

Nearly 50 percent of Asian seniors had never had a colonoscopy, but 73
percent reported getting a flu shot in the past year. More black
elderly  had undergone a colonoscopy -- 62 percent -- but nearly half
had not had  a flu shot in the past year.

Chang Wei Fun, an 85-year-old Taiwanese woman, does not have
prescription coverage through Medicare and spends $600 every two month
s  on medicine for heart problems and diabetes. She said she dreads
going  to the doctor because she is intimidated.

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company

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Boston Globe, Dec 25, 2003

Californians launch new Prop. 187 measure

By Robert Jablon, Associated Press Writer, 12/21/2003

LOS ANGELES -- Backers of a contentious 1994 initiative denying some
social services to illegal immigrants have resurrected their effort
and are gathering signatures to qualify a new measure for the November
ballot.

The "Save Our State Initiative" would bar undocumented immigrants from
obtaining driver's licenses and most public services, including
non-emergency health care.

Police, teachers and other public employees would have to notify
federal authorities in writing of immigration violations or face
potential misdemeanor criminal charges.

"We don't think it's right to give welfare to illegal aliens,"
campaign organizer Ron Prince said Saturday. "If you don't do
something about illegal immigration, you will never cure your
deficit."

The campaign has collected hundreds of signatures and several thousand
dollars since it began less than two weeks ago, Prince said. Backers
need 500,900 valid signatures by April to put the measure on the
November ballot.

The measure is similar to 1994's Proposition 187, which was approved
by 60 percent of voters but never took effect because of court
challenges.

This time supporters have designed the measure so it can survive legal
challenges, Prince said. One difference is that the new proposal would
allow illegal immigrants to attend public school.

The Proposition 187 campaign angered many Hispanic groups, who accused
its supporters of racism.

Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association
and national director of the immigrant rights group Hermandad Mexicana
Latinoamericana, called the new effort "symptomatic of the worst of
what we saw of the 1990s anti-immigrant movement."

"It's going to be back to divisive politics for California," Lopez
said. But he added that Proposition 187 has galvanized Hispanics
politically, and that about 2 million immigrants have become citizens
and registered voters in the state since the 1994 vote.

Prince, a Tustin accountant, said the issue was never race and that
many Hispanics favor curbing services to illegal immigrants.

"Who really hurts most from illegals?" he said. "The people who live
in East L.A. who ... compete for lower wages and jobs, and whose
children have to attend crowded schools."

Prince said Proposition 187 supporters were encouraged by the Oct. 7
recall of Gov. Gray Davis, fueled in part by anger over a bill he
signed that would have permitted some illegal immigrants to obtain
driver's licenses.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger repealed the law after taking office. He
voted for Proposition 187 but has not taken a position on the proposed
new initiative.

The state Republican Party also endorsed Proposition 187, but no major
GOP organization has yet endorsed the new campaign.

Backers say the new initiative is necessary because providing services
to illegals is costing cash-strapped California millions of dollars.

A summary of the measure prepared by the attorney general's office
says it could cost the government tens of millions of dollars to
verify citizenship but could save more than $100 million a year
through reduced costs of providing public services.

Prince disputes some studies that indicate illegal immigrants pay more
in taxes than they use in government services.

"If that were true, California would be awash in extra cash instead of
having the worst deficit in the nation and in our history," he said.



On the Net:

"Save Our State" initiative: http://www.save187.com/

Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamerica: http://www.hermandadmexicana.com/

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Los Angeles Times, Dec 20, 2003



New Prop 187 being pushed to deny services to undocumented workers.

Backers think permitting public education will make it acceptable.


Backers of Prop. 187 Push for New Initiative;

Organizers who a decade ago wrote Proposition 187 -- a landmark ballot
measure that divided California -- are now gathering signatures for a
new initiative that again would attempt to prohibit illegal immigrants
from receiving a broad array of public services.

Proposition 187 is considered a watershed in state politics, having
galvanized activism among opponents and cost Republicans support from
some Latinos.

But organizers, encouraged by the successful recalling of Gov. Gray
Davis, hope to place on the November ballot a proposition that, while
similar to the 1994 measure, would include several changes that they
say would stall legal challenges.

"We are taking a step back from Prop. 187," said Ron Prince, the
Tustin accountant who spearheaded the earlier proposition. "What we
are trying to do is build the largest possible public consensus on
this issue, and how to deal with it. And that's what we expect to do."

Voters approved Proposition 187, 60% to 40%, at the end of a racially
charged campaign. But in 1998, a federal judge tossed out the measure,
finding that it conflicted with federal welfare laws and that the U.S.
Constitution gives the federal government exclusive jurisdiction over
immigration issues.

Like 187, the new proposal would require providers of public health
and other services to verify applicants' legal residence status. It
would also:

*  Make it a misdemeanor for state and local officials -- such as
police officers -- not to report immigration law violations to federal
authorities.

*  Require the state to verify the legal residence status of
applicants for driver's licenses.

*  Prohibit the state from accepting foreign-issued identification
cards, such as Mexico's widely used matricula consular, a
fingerprinted photo card.

But the effort is already generating concern -- and not just from
immigrants-rights groups. Though Proposition 187 was backed by then-
Gov. Pete Wilson and other Republican leaders, some GOP officials
worry that another immigration-related measure could hurt the party.

Abel Maldonado, a Republican state Assemblyman from San Luis Obispo
who served as an advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign to
replace Davis, said the initiative would needlessly reignite bitter
racial politics.

"We don't need propositions that would divide this state at this time.
That's not the business we're in," Maldonado said. "Let Gov.
Schwarzenegger govern for a little bit. We don't need to open old
wounds."

Linda Boyd, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party,
added: "You know the damage that happened as a result of 187. It puts
the Republican Party in a difficult spot. Officially, our party is not
going to have a stance on it."

To qualify for the November ballot, Prince and his allies must collect
500,900 signatures by April and have them certified by the secretary
of state.

Some are skeptical that they can make the deadline, especially
considering that there is no clear source of funding. The Davis recall
campaign started as a grass-roots effort, but Rep. Darrell Issa
(R-Vista) provided more than $1 million to hire professional signature
collectors to do the work.

Prince said thousands of petitions had been mailed out last week and
that many more were being downloaded from the backers' website,
save187.com. The campaign is counting on volunteers to collect the
signatures, as well as small donations from supporters, though
officials would not say how much they have raised so far.

Fred Woocher, a Santa Monica attorney and a leading expert on
California initiatives, said it's unlikely that the group can get the
signatures needed without professional help.

"The days of something catching by wildfire alone are over," Woocher
said. "There is going to need to be cash in hand. It's just too many
signatures and too many other people doing other things right now."

Backers of the Save Our State Initiative said they were aware of the
stigma Proposition 187 carries in some eyes and asserted that their
new campaign would be less divisive. They have dropped a key proposal
from the 1994 initiative: denial of public education to illegal
immigrants. Prince said he believed this change would forestall legal
challenges.

Prince also said the campaign for the new ballot measure would be
different from the campaign in 1994, when Proposition 187 became the
most controversial issue in Wilson's reelection bid. Wilson's campaign
ran television ads showing illegal immigrants running across the
border in Tijuana with the caption "They Keep Coming." He said
Wilson's ads had been a mistake because they had fueled criticism by
Latino activists who said the initiative was racist.

"I don't think Pete Wilson will be running for office anytime soon,"
Prince said.

Supporters believe the time is right for the measure, not just because
of the successful recall, but also because of another initiative
campaign this fall. After Davis signed SB 60, a law giving illegal
immigrants the right to hold driver's licenses, a group launched a
campaign to ask voters to repeal the law. They gathered 500,000
signatures in less than 90 days. Schwarzenegger opposed SB 60, and the
Legislature repealed it last month.

Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly and an
organizer of the SB 60 repeal campaign, is not involved in the Save
Our State Initiative but said the GOP should not dismiss it out of
hand.

"The Republican Party makes a mistake by viewing it through the same
racial lenses that some illegal immigrant activists do," Spence said.

Prince said that, if the initiative makes the ballot and passes, he
would count on Schwarzenegger to offer a vigorous defense against any
legal challenges. Ashley Snee, a spokeswoman for the governor, said
Schwarzenegger would not comment on any proposed ballot measure until
it qualified for the ballot.

Whatever the measure's chances, immigrants-rights groups have roundly
criticized the proposal, calling it a return to racial politics that
sharply divided the state in the past.

The measure would turn law enforcement officers into federal
immigration agents, said Angelica Salas, executive director of the
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, and "seeks to
tie the arms of local municipalities in conducting everyday business