Repealing license bill for illegal immigrants causes stir

Granting drivers licenses to California's illegal immigrants is fast building into a galvanizing political issue among state legislators, political advocates of Latino rights and California's voters.

The law, Senate Bill 60, was signed by then-Gov. Gray Davis in the midst of the recent recall campaign that ended in his ouster by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was sworn into office Monday morning.

During Schwarzenegger's campaign he made repealing the law a top priority, declaring it would be a threat to national security to allow driver's licenses to become more accessible to possible foreign terrorists and more difficult for law enforcement to track them.

The law, written by state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, takes effect Jan. 1 and is facing a three-pronged attack on three different fronts: a lawsuit, a voter initiative for the March Primary Election to repeal it and a bill authored by state Sen. Rico Oller, R-San Andreas, that would repeal the law through the legislative process.

The attack on SB 60, in turn, has motivated several Latino political organizations in the state to organize in support for the law.

GOP strikes back

Republicans are leading the assault on the law, and statewide polls show a heavy majority -- up to 70 percent -- of Californians are in favor of the bill's repeal.

Aside from opposition to the bill surrounding security issues, several critics are also taking an anti-illegal immigrant stance as well.

"Rewarding bad behavior doesn't seem to make any sense to me," said Assemblyman Guy Houston, R-Livermore, in a recent phone interview. Houston's assembly district includes the city of Galt.

"People that have come to this country and have done it the right way are entitled to everything they get," Houston said.

In the Legislature, which is meeting in special session, Oller's bill has been assigned to the State Transportation Committee with a hearing scheduled for Monday, a press release from Oller's office said.

"The governor and I both agree that SB 60 is fundamentally flawed legislation and should be repealed outright," Oller said in the press release. "We are not interested in any sort of compromise when it comes to SB 60. We want to get rid of it."

All of the Lodi area's Republican state senators and assemblymen are supportive of a legislative repeal of the law, but are divided on an initiative to repeal the law if the drive in the Legislature fails. Initiative backers will need 373,000 signatures to put the measure on the March ballot.

Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi, R-Lodi, believes that SB 60 will be repealed, given its general unpopularity.

Houston agreed.

"Of all the things that happened this year -- second to the budget -- my office has received more mail and e-mail regarding this issue all year," Houston said. "As far as a single issue, this is the biggest one we've heard (about) from the public."

Area Democrats switch

Both Democratic state Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, and Assemblywoman Barbara Matthews, D-Tracy, initially supported the law but now have changed their positions.

"I think everyone would agree that we're safer when everyone on our roads has a license," Matthews said, in a statement. "The disagreement is over how to do that without unintentionally providing people with de facto legal immigration status."

Matthews changed her position due to unspecified national legislation in Congress aimed at addressing the needs of farm workers, a statement released by her office said.

Cathleen Galgiani, Matthews' chief of staff, did not respond to questions on whether the unpopularity of the law had contributed to Matthew's change in position.

Machado has publicly stated that he will back the repeal, but was unavailable to be interviewed and his office staff did not return repeated calls for comment.

The issue of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants is, however, motivating several Latino political groups to fight for the newly passed law.

"We are strongly in favor of (SB 60)," said Edward Headington, a spokesman for the Mexican American Political Association. The Los Angeles-based group announced a campaign to protect the law on Wednesday during a press conference held on Schwarzenegger's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"A lot of people are calling this the 'son of 187' fight," Headington said, referring to Proposition 187, which was passed by voters ten years ago barring illegal immigrants from the public school system and from some public services. The law was overturned by a federal court.

The run-up to the passage of 187 resulted in several demonstrations by Latino organizations, and Headington is predicting more of the same surrounding any attempt to repeal SB 60.

On Dec. 12, a statewide Latino economic boycott is planned. California's Hispanics and Latinos are being asked to refrain from buying goods and parents are being asked to keep their students out of school, Headington said. The day corresponds to the celebration of "Our Lady of Guadeloupe," a Mexican religious holiday.

Lodians react

Marisa Rodriguez, who works in the Casa Del Pueblo Lodi, a store that sells Mexican products in Lodi, said she hadn't heard anything about the boycott and none of her customers had mentioned it either. She added that she didn't know if she would support such a boycott.

"(The issue) is important, but I've been too busy," she said. "We haven't talked about it really. I think I could see both sides -- with all the terrorism going on and all."

Angelo Mercado, the owner of Angelo's Mexican Restaurant in downtown Lodi, hadn't heard of the boycott either, but wouldn't support it.

"I don't think it's necessary," he said.

At the Department of Motor Vehicles, Lodi resident Jesus Valdovinos stood outside waiting for his number to be called inside. Valdovinos was very much in favor of the law. He said he knew many friends that were illegal and needed to drive to get to work. Also, the government received the money from the fees that illegal immigrants pay and the licenses also allow these immigrants to buy insurance, he said.

"We all have to work," Valdovinos said.

But voter opposition to the law may very well be a symbol of everything despised about Davis. If so, that will be very difficult for any organization to overcome. That was the opinion of another man at the DMV Thursday, a truck driver who said he worked nights, and declined to give his name.

"It's appalling and disgraceful and our ex-governor ought to be indicted for it," he said. "He tried to buy the election with the Latino vote."

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