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This article examines the role of racial/ethnic diversity in county-level support for California's illegal immigration initiative (Proposition 187). We conceptualize California counties in terms of their homogeneous, heterogeneous, or bifurcated racial/ethnic composition. We argue racial/ethnic context is critical beyond individual-level factors; this context is central in explaining public policy, especially policies that affect minority groups. The vote for Proposition 187 is expected to be the highest in "bifurcated" counties with large Latino populations. Regression analysis is used to statistically model the county-level vote for the initiative relative to the size of racial/ethnic populations, economic conditions, and party. Bifurcated counties with large Latino populations strongly supported Proposition 187, as well as homogeneous counties with predominately white and very small minority populations. California's white/Latino bifurcated racial/ethnic composition may parallel the white/black bifurcation of the deep South in an earlier era. The importance of the theory and empirical findings presented extend beyond California to national and subnational politics.
Tolbert et al. (Thu,) studied this question.