License plan's hurdle: Listing illegal status

By Jim Sanders -- Bee Capitol Bureau - (Published June 2, 2004)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is insisting that if driver's licenses are issued to illegal immigrants, the cards must specify that they are not lawful California residents, a requirement opponents liken to a "scarlet letter" that could pave the way for discrimination and abuse.

The issue has arisen as a major stumbling block in behind-the-scenes negotiations over legislation unveiled Tuesday by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, that would allow more than 2 million illegal immigrants to obtain licenses.

Schwarzenegger made his position clear last week in meetings with key Latino legislators, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Margita Thompson, the GOP governor's spokeswoman, declined Tuesday to discuss any details of the closed-door talks.

But Thompson said generally that the governor has a responsibility to ensure that any legislation granting licenses to illegal immigrants contains adequate safeguards.

She said Schwarzenegger is not satisfied that Cedillo's newly amended bill, SB 1160, adequately addresses security concerns.

"So he does not support Senator Cedillo's bill," she said.

Schwarzenegger has not specified what special mark, lettering or word he wants on the licenses, sources said.

Requiring illegal immigrants' licenses to indicate they are not lawful residents apparently is intended to ensure that the licenses be used solely for driving - not as identification to rent property, seek public assistance or for other purposes.

Special markings also could indicate to police officers that the identity of the licensed driver has been verified by a foreign consulate, not California state officials.

Cedillo said he would rather abandon his driver's license bill, SB 1160, than allow illegal residents to be unfairly singled out for "that type of societal, institutional, structured discrimination."

He said he suspects the governor is proposing the license markings as a trial balloon rather than to kill negotiations.

"But if he's trying to put in a poison pill, that would be it," Cedillo said.

Francisco Estrada, policy director for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, likened Schwarzenegger's proposal to Germany's requirement during World War II that Jews display the yellow Star of David on their sleeves.

"They might as well be branded on the forehead," Estrada said of marking the licenses of illegal immigrants.

Others noted that Schwarzenegger has been very sensitive to past human-rights abuses, such as the Holocaust.

"The governor would never do anything that would be seen as discriminatory," Thompson said.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, said he is hopeful that an agreement can be reached, but added that specially marked licenses would be a "scarlet letter that I don't think has a place in this state."

"While we want to protect homeland security, we also have to make sure that we're protecting each individual's human rights," Núñez said.

Controversy has raged for months on the issue of granting licenses to illegal immigrants.

Legislation granting such rights was adopted last year but repealed under pressure from Schwarzenegger before it took effect.

Proponents say granting driver's licenses would make roads safer by allowing illegal immigrants to qualify for state proficiency testing and to purchase insurance.

Supporters contend that SB 1160 would allow illegal immigrants, many of them longtime residents, to drive to work or take their children to school without fear of having their vehicles confiscated by police.

But critics counter that illegal residents do not deserve such rights, and that driver's licenses potentially could be used by terrorists to rent vehicles and buy materials for an attack.

"I'll tell you right now, if Schwarzenegger signs this bill, he's betrayed his oath of office and the California people who put him in office," said Barbara Coe, chairwoman of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform.

SB 1160 would require illegal immigrants to undergo criminal background checks, be sponsored by a licensed California driver, and agree to become U.S. citizens if they become eligible.

Illegal immigrants from Iraq, Cuba, Libya, North Korea or other countries deemed by the federal government to be sponsors of terrorism would be excluded.

Specifically, SB 1160 requires illegal immigrants from other nations who apply for a California driver's license to:

* Submit a valid passport or an official identification card, such as a matricula consular, issued by the applicant's home country. The applicant would have to produce a birth certificate, proof of California address, another official form of ID and other identifying information.

* Allow their fingerprints to be scanned for a criminal background check. Anyone with a criminal conviction would be ineligible.

* Find a sponsor who is a U.S. citizen and a licensed California driver.

* Pay fees totaling $146, a portion of which would help subsidize citizenship classes for illegal immigrants.

Cedillo's proposal includes safeguards against illegal immigrants using such driver's licenses to buy firearms or qualify for jury service.

But critics say that the safeguards do not go far enough and that they do not trust foreign governments to adequately verify identification.

Requiring illegal immigrants to say they will apply for U.S. citizenship means little, because many may never become eligible, critics say.

Under SB 1160, anyone sponsoring an illegal immigrant's license application assumes no legal obligations. The bill does not require illegal immigrants to be employed or have auto insurance.

Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, opposes the notion of granting such licenses.

"If you're in this country illegally, you cannot take advantage of the laws of this country," he said. "It's real simple."