Posted on 09/05/2003 9:50:52 PM PDT by Dallas59
DANA POINT — Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday criticized Gov. Gray Davis' support of a bill granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, the same day the governor signed the landmark legislation.
Historic Recall Election The Latest Developments Federal Panel in San Jose OK's Oct. 7 Recall Vote Habrían retirado último obstáculo para votación en California
Schwarzenegger, the leading Republican candidate in the Oct. 7 recall election, said Davis flip-flopped on his support for the bill and said it raises security concerns. The state attorney general's office on Friday raised similar concerns with the bill.
Schwarzenegger said he would try to repeal it if he is elected.
"As you know, our own governor was vividly against this a few months ago," Schwarzenegger said after a speech to the California Chamber of Commerce. "Now it's election time-- of course everything changes."
Granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants has become a central campaign issue in recent days as candidates sought to stake their ground on immigration-related matters. On Thursday, Schwarzenegger, a native of Austria who spoke little English when he arrived in the United States in 1968, said no candidate was as sympathetic to the plight of immigrants as he is.
"I don't need to get a lesson from anyone else about immigration because I've been there," he told The Associated Press.
Davis signed the bill before hundreds of cheering supporters at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Los Angeles. The predominantly Hispanic crowd waved mostly U.S. flags as well as Mexican flags and those from various Central American countries.
"If you are going to contribute to our economy, you have the right to drive to work," he said afterward. "Everyone benefits by having drivers on the road who know the rules of the road and presumably be a safer driver."
Earlier, he defended his decision to allow the licenses, a privilege he said also is granted in Nevada and New Mexico.
"I think we have to be honest about our dependency on people to do jobs Americans will not," Davis said.
The governor said immigrants were likely to get behind the wheel, anyway. With a license, they would at least have to pass a driving test, he said.
The bill the governor signed will take effect Jan. 1. It will help illegal immigrants obtain licenses by allowing them to submit a federal taxpayer identification number or some other state-approved form of identification to the Department of Motor Vehicles, instead of a Social Security number.
Davis has vetoed two similar bills since he became governor, citing law enforcement's concerns about the legislation, but during a campaign rally last month said he would sign this version.
Critics said the governor was merely pandering to Hispanic voters, who account for about 16 percent of all registered voters statewide.
The bill did not contain features the governor demanded earlier, such as requirements that applicants pass criminal background checks and be in the process of obtaining legal documentation.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer withdrew his support of the bill this week after a provision was removed that required a high-tech identification system, known as biometric fingerprinting. Lockyer also is concerned that the new law creates a loophole that could make it easier for illegal immigrants to get guns if they lie on firearms application that they are citizens, spokeswoman Hallye Jordan said.
"The drivers' licenses have provide a safeguard in the past," Jordan said. "Now, if you have a drivers' license, there's no way to tell you are not a legal citizen. If you lie and say you are, California will have no way of rebutting that."
Steve Maviglio, a Davis spokesman, said millions of California residents already have licenses but aren't U.S. citizens; instead they're residents with a green card or who are working toward citizenship.
A group of conservative Republicans, including Sen. Tom McClintock, planned to launch a ballot initiative to overturn the law, said Jeff Evans, a spokesman for a group called Save Our License.
Also Friday, about 100 protesters rallied outside Schwarzenegger's new campaign office in Santa Monica, upset at what they said were disparaging comments about women attributed to him in a series of magazine interviews. In a 1977 interview, for example, the then-29-year-old bodybuilding champion discussed his sexual exploits and a group sex encounter in a Venice gym.
At one point, the organization, CODEPINK, unfurled a pink banner from a building across the street from the office that read, "Arnold, you're terminated."
"He owes an apology to women he has abused and the women of California," said Karen Pomer, a spokeswoman for the group.
A spokesman for Schwarzenegger dismissed the group's allegations as untrue and said the comments were taken out of context.
The actor appeared at the office with his wife, Maria Shriver, who expressed support for her husband. The couple left after greeting some of the estimated 300 volunteers at the event.
Earlier in the day, a panel of three federal judges refused to postpone the Oct. 7 recall election, removing one of its last legal barriers.
The panel in San Jose acted after the U.S. Justice Department made a formal determination that Monterey County's hurriedly assembled balloting plans did not violate the federal Voting Rights Act. Activists said the changes, which included a reduction in the number of polling places, disenfranchised minority voters.
An ACLU lawsuit challenging the use of punch-card ballots in six counties, including Los Angeles, is still pending in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A hearing is scheduled Sept. 11.
Copyright © 2003 KABC-TV and the Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Last Updated: Sep 5, 2003
1) A federal lawsuit on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. A ruling against states giving DL's to illegals would be excellent and would affect at least 30+ otyher states with similar outrageous laws.
2) A California initiative to rescind the law. A string orf lawsuits will follow it's passing, to be sure.
Either way, this law is a disaster for California AND the USA and will be with us for a long time, and our national security will be greatly weakened.
Hey Davis, have a heart attack you b*stard.
Interesting.
Exactly my point. With dead voters and illegal alien voters combined, Grayout could manage to win steal the election.
I think we have to be honest about the majority of voters in California being complete, freaking retards who are so obviously out to lunch and stupid that this bill should have been one which stripped them of their drivers licenses.
People stupid enough to put this a$$hole in office are clearly too stupid to drive a motor vehicle with even a minimum amount of due diligence.
Tancredo Fan
HiJinx
JustPiper
Ask to be put on Ping list.
You are exactly correct. People who do not live around them don't understand this.
Keep it up and maybe we can shut down the DMV too. :-)
Of course not. Just ask Loretta Sanchez.
You are too kind. I see it as much more sinister.
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