- SACRAMENTO - A fourth attempt
to let illegal immigrants apply for driver's licenses failed Wednesday
as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made good on a vow to veto legislation that
would have allowed up to 2 million immigrants to drive legally.
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- Supporters of the bill immediately promised to resume
the battle next year and said the governor caved in to negative public
sentiment instead of showing leadership.
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- Schwarzenegger, who promised to veto the bill after lawmakers
passed it Aug. 27, said in a brief veto message that the bill did not address
his security concerns.
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- The bill lacked a key provision he insisted upon for
months, a special identifying mark on the licenses held by illegal immigrants.
Supporters of the bill said such a mark would create a "scarlet letter"
stigma.
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- The governor's veto added new weight to California's
decade-old ban against licensing illegal immigrant adult drivers, most
of them from Mexico. It also marked Schwarzenegger's second major decision
on the issue, coming 10 months after he pushed lawmakers to repeal a similar
law signed by Gov. Gray Davis shortly before his defeat in the October
recall.
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- Schwarzenegger, who made the license law a central theme
of his 2003 campaign against Davis, said there were concerns about establishing
the identities of immigrants.
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- "One of the most important duties of the governor
of a state is to protect its citizens," Schwarzenegger said in his
message. "Determining the true identity and history of an individual
is a key component of that protection."
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- Advocates of the bill claimed the governor's insistence
on a special identifier was discriminatory and that Schwarzenegger broke
promises to find a compromise.
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- "Considering that he gave his word that he would
work with the Legislature on an acceptable bill, we are now back to square
one," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles.
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- Neighboring states allow illegal immigrants to obtain
licenses, but supporters said the proposed bill would have been the strictest
in the nation. The bill required criminal background checks, fingerprinting,
adult sponsors and a $141 fee. Applicants would have also provided a federal
taxpayer identification card or identification card from their consulates.
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- "The governor had an opportunity to exercise national
leadership on the driver's license issue and move California forward,"
said Edward Headington, spokesman for the bill's prime backer, Sen. Gil
Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. "He vetoed today the best driver's license
bill in America, one that strengthens national security, one that strengthens
public safety and holds immigrants to the highest-level standard anywhere
in the nation."
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- The veto marked the newest turn in a sustained battle
that reveals the state's rigid political divide over illegal immigration.
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- Supporters called the legislation a recognition of contributions
by California's large illegal working class while opponents dismissed it
as rewarding those who break the nation's immigration laws. Opponents also
frequently suggested terrorists would use licenses to blend in.
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- Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield,
applauded the veto.
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- "This veto makes it harder for terrorists to obtain
the primary document used for renting cars, boarding planes, and making
other travel arrangements," McCarthy said.
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- Similar fears in Florida caused lawmakers last April
to abandon a similar licensing bill backed by Gov. Jeb Bush.
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- Schwarzenegger's veto countered many mainstream supporters
of the bill, including Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and Roman
Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles as well as other police chiefs,
religious organizations and newspaper editorial pages.
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- All argued that licensing illegal immigrants would make
highways safer by making immigrants pass the state's driving test and requiring
them to buy car insurance.
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- Headington suggested the veto would harm Schwarzenegger's
standing with many of the state's minority communities.
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- For four straight years Cedillo has persuaded the Legislature
to pass such bills. But he withdrew the 2001 version days after the Sept.
11, 2001 terrorist attacks, saw the 2002 version vetoed and the 2003 bill
was repealed shortly after Davis signed it in his failed effort to save
his job.
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- California allowed its large illegal immigrant population
to apply for driver's licenses for decades before 1994. Lawmakers passed
the ban in 1993 as anti-immigrant sentiment swept the state, culminating
in 1994's passage of Proposition 187, which aimed to deny public services
to illegal immigrants. That ballot measure was later overturned by the
courts, but not the license issue.
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- Most of California's neighbors, including Utah, Oregon,
Washington and Hawaii, don't require license applicants to prove legal
residency in the United States. Nationally, nearly 40 states have the requirement,
according to the Los Angeles-based National Immigration Law Center.
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- ON THE NET
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- Read the bill, AB2895, at http://www.legislature.ca.gov
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- National Immigration Law Center: http://www.nilc.org
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- http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald
/news/politics/9734360.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
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