The Anti-Immigrant Movement Sets the Stage

From the emergence of a new nativist movement in the late 1970s, groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) have sought influence inside Washington D.C. During the debate over the Immigration Reform and Control Act in the early 1980s, FAIR worked closely with both of its primary sponsors, Senator Simpson (R-Wyo.) and Congressman Mazzoli (D-Ky). According to its founder and leading personality, John Tanton, "FAIR'S part in the passage of the Simpson- Mazzoli Bill cost us eight years of effort and eight million dollars."1 President Reagan signed this bill in 1986, and made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit undocumented immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before 1982.

In 1994, a referendum election in California became the most important test case on immigration policy at that time. Listed on ballots as "Save Our State," Proposition 187 mandated strict and punitive measures against undocumented immigrants. Entire families would be barred from receiving any type of public assistance, including routine medical care, and their children would be ineligible for public schooling. The initiative required teachers to screen their classrooms for students whose parents did not have papers. Similarly, medical personnel were to report undocumented patients to immigration authorities.

FAIR's Sacramento-based lobbyist Alan C. Nelson was a co-author of the proposition language,2 and the organization helped pay for advertising efforts during the closing weeks of the campaign.3 The measure passed overwhelmingly: 4,624,825 votes or 59.1% for, and 3,197,409 votes or 40.8% against.4 The Supreme Court struck down the most punitive sections of the measure because they violated Fourteenth Amendment protections. Nevertheless, FAIR executive director Dan Stein argued at the time that, "Proposition 187 is the clearest ringing bell to wake up our national leadership on this question that we've had in 100 years."5

Today, a dozen anti-immigrant organizations maintain national profiles. These groups have combined annual budgets of over twelve million dollars, and an active donor base of between six hundred thousand and seven hundred fifty thousand. As these national groups have expanded their influence, the number of state and local organizations has jumped up. Between January of 2005 and January of 2007, such groups have increased in number by 600 percent.6