Zedillo and 187

Re “Zedillo Key to End of Prop. 187, Villaraigosa Says,” Aug 4:

I don’t know which I dislike more--mean-spirited politics like Prop. 187 or foreign politicians meddling in our affairs. If Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo is so concerned about the welfare of his expatriated citizens, perhaps he should take better care of them before they leave home.

JEFF KLEMZAK

La Crescenta

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Maybe the time has come for the U.S. to get involved with helping to shape Zedillo’s country’s policy. With Mexico’s history of widespread government corruption at the expense of its poor working class, perhaps Zedillo’s time would be better spent trying to clean up his own house before wanting to clean up ours.

My advice to him? Make Mexico a better place to live so that throngs of oppressed people don’t need to keep trying to escape across the border for a better life here.

WILL RAY

Burbank

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A California legislator praises and thanks the president of Mexico for helping to defeat the will of the majority of California’s voters. Is this a great country or what?

RICHARD ROSENTHAL

Long Beach

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Re “Some Are Embittered by Fate of Prop. 187,” Aug. 2: I am a former gay activist and a staunch Democrat. I voted for Prop. 187. I have worked in operations/production management for the past 20 years, and being unemployed for over a year and unable to get employment in my field in California because I do not speak Spanish is an outrage. I have personal knowledge that many illegal aliens hold jobs that pay from $11 to $22 per hour.

If there is a recall of Gov. Gray Davis over this issue, I will be first in line to sign the petition. All of my Hispanic friends who came here legally from South America also support Prop. 187. Illegal aliens cause wages to be lower for all workers.

THOMAS J. MARTIN

West Hollywood

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Re the statement by Roberta Gilliam, “Shoot illegals at the border”: If that is not racism, I don’t know what is. They are just returning to this beautiful land of opportunity, which was once their own. Let us face it, eventually it will be theirs again. Politically.

JOSE V. SOTO

Montebello

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It’s about time someone did the math on Prop. 187. Purporting to save taxpayer money, it would have caused additional tax burdens to be placed on everyday Californians, while allowing a few to express their xenophobic tendencies. For those who can add and subtract, the 1994 California voter information packet spelled out the cost of Prop. 187 to the taxpayers in irrefutable terms. Prop. 187 might have saved an estimated $200 million annually but it would have cost us over $15 billion a year.

Prop. 187 was never anything more than an exercise in racism. It would have caused us to pay higher taxes, without being enforceable. By voiding Prop. 187 before it could cost the taxpayers $14.8 billion annually, Gov. Davis has saved us all from the economic burdens of increased property and sales taxes.

CHARLIE SIMMONS

Ramona