California Insider

A Weblog by
Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub

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July 29, 2003

Davis eager to sign drivers license bill for immigrants

The Bee reports this morning on the governor’s vow to sign a bill to give driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. Citing security concerns, Davis vetoed the bill a year ago, but the new measure does not include the provisions he said he would demand before changing his position. Namely, the governor wanted background checks done to ensure that immigrants with a criminal past did not get licenses. Also, this bill is broader, removing the provision in last year’s measure that allowed licenses only for those immigrants who had already applied for legal residency. Latino lawmakers are selling this bill to Davis as a way to win favor with Hispanic voters. But it is a huge gamble. Signing this bill could just as easily backfire on Davis, setting off a firestorm of protest from opponents of the bill and getting people to the polls who otherwise would have stayed home. The campaign on behalf of the bill also suffers from the condescending assumption that all Latinos, including those who waited years to enter this country lawfully, support expanding services and privileges to illegal immigrants.