PROPOSITION 187 : Fund-Raiser by Supporters Draws 100 in Orange County

To counter what they called an onslaught of negative propaganda, an Orange County congressman and a former congressman hailed Proposition 187 at a fund-raiser Friday night as the state’s last best hope of saving itself from financial ruin.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and William Dannemeyer, a former seven-term Republican congressman from Fullerton, argued that supplying education, medical and welfare benefits to illegal immigrants is bankrupting the state and jeopardizing the future of the nation. The measure would prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving most such public services.

“If this doesn’t pass, the flood of illegal immigrants will turn into a tidal wave, and a huge neon sign will be lit up above the state of California that reads, ‘Come and get it.’ ” Rohrabacher told a cheering, flag-waving crowd of about 100 initiative supporters.

“The state is in technical receivership,” Dannemeyer added. “The people of this state are sick and tired of having laws being crushed under the feet of illegal aliens.”

Both men attacked arguments that the initiative will foster anti-immigrant, even racist, sentiment.

“The charge of racism is a tactic of intimidation that doesn’t work anymore,” Rohrabacher said. “It’s meant to close out honest debate. This initiative isn’t about racism. It’s about whether foreigners should be coming here depleting the scarce resources of Americans.”

Dannemeyer responded to former Republican Cabinet Secretaries Jack F. Kemp and William J. Bennett who last week condemned the measure, saying it would force school administrators to function as immigration agents. Dannemeyer said school officials could easily check citizenship status with birth certificates already on file.

Organizers, who charged $20 admission to the event, said money raised Friday night would help pay for television and radio commercials in support of Proposition 187 in the next week.