The need to stop the flow of illegal immigrants has become an important issue in campaign '96. The candidates all appear to support increasing the number of U.S. border guards, and many favor deploying the National Guard to help guard the border with Mexico. Some candidates differentiate between "good" legal immigration and "bad" illegal immigration, while others favor restrictions on legal immigrants as well. Opinion is divided on Proposition 187, a California referendum passed in 1994 that would deny all but emergency services to illegal immigrants. (Parts of Proposition 187 have been declared unconstitutional by a federal district court in California; the appeals process is continuing.)

• Supports spending more than $1 billion on increased border patrols, tougher enforcement of immigration laws and deportations.
• Supports denying welfare benefits and public services to illegal immigrants.
• Supports allowing children of illegal immigrants to attend public schools.
• Supports reimbursing states for expenses connected to illegal immigration.

• Supports denying government welfare services to illegal aliens.
• Supports strengthening the Border Patrol.
• Supports more aggressive enforcement of the laws expediting the deportation of criminal aliens.
• Supports streamlining the deportation process for all illegal aliens.