- Sacramento (CNSNews.com) - A hotly contested bill that
would have allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses
in California was vetoed Monday by Gov. Gray Davis, who was concerned that
the bill could compromise homeland security.
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- "The tragedy of Sept. 11 made it abundantly clear
that the driver's license is more than just a license to drive; it is one
of the primary documents we use to identify ourselves," the Democrat
governor said in his veto message.
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- "Unfortunately, a driver's license was in the hands
of terrorists who attacked America on that fateful day," Davis continued.
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- During months of negotiations with the bill's backers
and law enforcement officials, Davis insisted that the bill contain adequate
safeguards, including background checks for applicants, and that state
officials cooperate with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the
federal agency that oversees immigration maters.
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- In the end, though, supporters' concessions fell short
of Davis' expectations.
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- In California, undocumented immigrants have not been
able to get drivers' licenses since 1993, when the state Department of
Motor Vehicles began requiring all drivers to have a Social Security number.
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- In Assembly Bill 60, Los Angeles Democrat Assemblyman
Gil Cedillo sought to change that law so illegal immigrants in the process
of legalizing their immigration status would be able to get a license.
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- Instead of requiring a Social Security number, his proposal
would have allowed the use of a federal Taxpayer ID number, which can be
obtained regardless of legal residency.
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- Cedillo estimated that if signed, his bill would have
helped to as many as 1 million of the estimated 3 million illegal immigrants
in California, allowing them to drive legally and get insurance.
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- Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, a Republican, was among
the state lawmakers who admonished the Legislature's Democratic majority
for supporting the bill, especially since some of the Sept. 11 terrorists
are known to have used fraudulently-obtained Virginia driver's licenses.
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- Mountjoy said the bill would wrongly confer quasi-citizenship
to illegal aliens.
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- "People who enter this country illegally should
be sent back to their country of origin, and should not be rewarded,"
he said.
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- Other critics argued that depending on Taxpayer ID numbers
is unreliable and could open the DMV's databases up to fraud, thus complicating
the efforts of law enforcement agencies that use the system to track down
fugitives.
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- Two years ago, Davis vetoed a similar bill. And a proposal
sent to him last year was tabled amid criticism after the Sept. 11 attacks,
and amid news accounts that a group of undocumented aliens in the state
had fraudulently obtained drivers' licenses to operate trucks and obtain
permits to haul toxic materials.
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