Remarks at a rally in Los Angeles, California

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 14, 1994

Now let me say this to people who disagree with us on 187. Let me say this: It is true that the State of California has borne an unfair burden in the cost of illegal immigration. That is true. And it is true that in tough times, that burden is hard to bear. But what I want to tell you is, from the day I became President, because I had served with Governors in California, in Florida, in Texas and other States, I started to do something about it. I worked with Senator Feinstein; I worked with Senator Boxer; I worked with your congressional delegation. I tried to work with your Governor. I didn't think it was a partisan issue. We have almost doubled the border guards in San Diego. We have provided funds for the first time for the cost of incarceration. When I have been reducing the Government deficit, we have increased by one-third the amount of money coming to California to deal with the cost of illegal immigration. We haven't been laying down, folks, we've been answering the call to do something about it.

Do we need to do more? Yes, we do. But this is not the answer. Look at 187; what does it say? It says that the adults of this country and the authorities are not able! to keep illegal immigrants out of California, so we will punish their children. That's what it says. It says, close the health clinics to them, even if it creates a public health problem for everybody else. It says, turn the teachers into police officers and kick the kids out on the street. Let me ask the children here, don't you think we've got enough kids on the street already? We need more kids in school, making this State a better place.

Folks, the whole immigration system was a mess when I took office 21 months ago. I am trying to fix it. It is better than it was; it will get better still. Now, a lot of the people who are pointing the finger of blame at this election, who are trying to make you mad, you angry, you lash out, you vote for this, they helped to create the problem. When the Governor was a Senator, he voted for a bill to make it easier for illegal immigrants to be in California, because powerful interests wanted them to work for low wages. You know it as well as I do.

And then, when he became the Governor, and a President of his party was in Washington, his friend, his ally, he never raised a peep about this to put any heat on him, and they did nothing. Then when Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer and President Clinton showed up, we did not say this about the Governor. We said nothing bad. We opened our hands. We said, "Let's roll up our sleeves; let's take responsibility; let's face this problem in a way that brings California together, not drives California apart." And that is what I have tried to do. Get me a partner in the Governor's office who will do the same thing.

Let me say again--let me say again, folks. Why are they doing well? Because they say "If we can just make the American people--this is nationally and in California--if we can make people mad enough, they will vote without thinking. If we can make them cynical enough, the Democrats will stay home. And if we can make them believe that Government is bad, that it always makes things worse, then we win all the way around because when the economy gets better, we can say, well, that happened in spite of the President and the Congress. If things get better, we'll say, Government had nothing to do with it. If it gets worse, we'll blame Government and we can say any kind of outrageous thing we want to appeal to extremists and mean elements in our country, and we can still get elected." That is their strategy.