CYPRESS : Council Will Not Take a Stand on Prop. 187

City Council members have announced that they will not take a stand on Proposition 187, the initiative that would deny health and education services to illegal immigrants.

Mayor Richard Partin said Tuesday night that council members do not believe taking a stand on statewide initiatives is appropriate. “It’s not our place,” Partin said.

On Sept. 12, Cypress resident Doris Shyken petitioned the council to endorse the initiative, which is backed by an organization called Save Our State. Three council members responded that night that they believed something should be done to halt illegal immigration. But council members agreed that no vote should be taken until they had the full text of the initiative.

On Sept. 26, two other Cypress residents appeared before the council, urging the members not to endorse Proposition 187. Those residents, Father Mike Heher of St. Irenaeus Catholic Church and teacher Carolyn Pryor, told the council that they believe the initiative is wrong and harmful.

The proposed endorsement was on the council’s agenda Tuesday night, but the matter never came up for a vote or discussion. Instead, Partin said the council had decided to take no stand.

Shyken was in the audience Tuesday night but she did not speak to the council. She later said she was “very disappointed” that the council took no stand on Proposition 187, as have some other Orange County cities, including Tustin and Huntington Beach. “Our borders are being deluged by people coming here against our laws,” Shyken said.