I really enjoyed yesterday's movie about Proposal 187 in Los Angeles. I had never heard of Proposal 187 before and I thought that the movie did a good job explaining the ideals behind the proposal and how many people in L.A. felt about it. It was smart of the filmmaker to focus on one particular elementary school in L.A. so that viewers could feel more connected to the "characters" in the movie, particularly the little girl (Maya?) who the film focused on. I agree with the post below me that the film did indeed present some biased viewpoints. But I do think it was important to show both sides of the issue. The moment in the film that stuck out the most to me was the elementary school librarian who spoke to the kids in an incredibly demeaning and edgy tone as he told them that he "does not litter" on the streets of L.A. and that many people of "illegal" status do. This ridiculous accustaion proved the filmmaker's point that many problems in the United States are blamed on illegal immigrants, when "legal Americans" are at fault as well.
I do have to say, though, that I believe there needs to be a better system to make undocumented immigrants a legal part of the United States. It truly is unfair to "legal" kids in elementary schools to learn in overcrowded classrooms without the proper equiptment and supplies if many seats are being given to those of "alien" status. But, as the movie rightly explained, this is by no means the fault of the children in elementary schools. It is their parents who are unregistered citizens of the United States, and the blame should not be placed on school-age children for the overcrowding in school systems. There needs to be a different way to encourage immigrants who move to the United States to register as full American citizens so that they and their children can get the rights that all established American citizens.
Overall, I think the movie did an excellent job presenting the issues brought about by Prop 187 in L.A. in 1994. I think it presented a wide array of viewpoints from the extremely liberal to the extremely conservative, and even included a Latina women who voted in favor of Prop 187. These ranging opinions were helpful in understanding the consequences of Prop 187.
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I don't think "encouraging parents to register as full citezens" is the problem. If immigrants could come here legally, without the fear of the legal system and deportation, they would. The problem is that our current immigration system doesn't let people come here legally- at least not as many as want to come or need to come (depending on whether you look at economic immigration as a choice or not).
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