Driving Us Backward
Latinos see Wilson-era racism behind Schwarzenegger's repeal of the immigrant driver's license bill
After vowing fervently to clean up Sacramento, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got down to business with his first legislative victory this week. But it wasn't to rein in special-interest political contributions (now he's cool with it), put the brakes on Indian gaming (he wants to expand it), or stop "crazy deficit spending" (he'd like a $15 billion loan to end all loans). No, his first successful move for the history books was to sign the repeal of a law that would have licensed countless illegal immigrant drivers who otherwise will continue running errands for the likes of his rich Brentwood neighbors without being accountable to law enforcement or the DMV.
His reasoning is cloaked in patriotism; the bill, which would allow undocumented migrants to obtain driver's licenses with only a tax identification number and a photo ID, starting in January - would also have put easy California IDs in the hands of terrorists, says Schwarzenegger.
But many in the Mexican-American political community aren't too happy about the cancellation of the bill, which ex-Gov. Gray Davis signed into law as he ran for his life against Schwarzenegger. In fact, the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) is urging Latinos to skip work, school, and shopping on December 12 to send a message to Sacramento that everyone on our roads should be licensed. The association sees Schwarzenegger's first legislative move as a sign of a reemergence of Wilson-era immigrant bashing from the right wing. Former Gov. Pete Wilson chaired Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial campaign and was widely loathed in Latino communities for his drive to pass Proposition 187, a ballot initiative that would have denied education and social services to illegal immigrants had it not been struck down in court. MAPA president Nativo Lopez says right-wingers have taken out papers so they can begin gathering signatures for a "son of Prop. 187" ballot initiative that would again raise the specter of denying services to the undocumented.
"We're already contemplating targets where we will pursue economic boycotts, school strikes, and targeting corporations that are contributing to this resurgence in a backlash against immigrants," Lopez says.
For decades, undocumented migrants could obtain licenses, until the Wilson era, when conservative fear that "illegals" were using the cards to obtain government benefits prompted the current ban. Sen. Gil Cedillo, the Los Angeles Democrat who authored the bill that would have allowed the undocumented to drive legally again, said that before his wife died last year he made a commitment to her to make the licensing of all who share our roads legal again. "She was committed to ending the humiliation immigrants suffer when they are pulled over randomly, their cars are taken from them, and their families are left on the sidewalk," he told The Sacramento Bee.
MAPA's Lopez is steaming, and, like some Republicans, he doesn't see much of a chance that any kind of a driver's license bill for illegals would ever pass in the Schwarzenegger era. His "economic strike" is being supported by some large Latino groups, including Federaciones Mexicanas. "Gov. Schwarzenegger and the California Republican assembly did us a big favor by helping us organize our power," Lopez says. "They're so cocky, they think they can slap Mexicans in the face without reciprocity."
For his part, Schwarzenegger said he would consider a compromise bill next year that would allow illegals to get licenses while addressing his security concerns by requiring, perhaps, criminal background checks for applicants. But he didn't make any hard promises he can't wiggle out of later. In a statement, he said he looked forward to working with "the Latino Caucus on this issue in January during the regular legislative session to find a sensible solution to this issue."
"I'm not going to hypothesize on what the legislature will or will not do," added Schwarzenegger spokesman Vince Sollitto. "The governor has pledged to work with them."
Observers on both sides of the aisle are cynical about the chances that any new bill will emerge. "It's not a matter of 'We don't like illegal immigrants,' but illegal is illegal," says Rodney Stanhope, a spokesman for the California Republican Assembly. "That's the bottom line."Published: 12/04/2003
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