Posted: 9/18/2003 8:25:21 PM EDT
There's just so much wrong here: Immigrant licenses face Ariz. test
The Arizona Republic Sept. 10, 2003 12:00 AM
Immigrant rights advocates hope a new law that grants undocumented immigrants the right to obtain driver's licenses in California will boost efforts for similar legislation in Arizona.
"Hopefully we can use this to convince the Legislature in Arizona to do the same thing," said Phoenix immigration lawyer Emilia Bañuelos, a member of the Valley Interfaith Project, a coalition that has lobbied in favor of the measure.
On Tuesday, Gov. Janet Napolitano said she supports the new California law and would sign a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses in Arizona.
"I have the same position I do now that I had last year," Napolitano said. "Driver's licenses are not immigration documents. If that bill passes (in the Arizona Legislature), I would be happy to sign it." . . . "They are here, and they are in the streets," Bañuelos said. "This ensures they have gone through the process and that they know the rules of the road."
But Democratic lawmakers who favor the measure believe the California bill will have little, if any, effect on Republican lawmakers who consistently have blocked efforts to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses in Arizona.
"It ain't going to make a hill of beans," said Sen. Pete Rios, D-Hayden. "We are going to keep pushing for it, but I'm telling people: Don't get your hopes too high regardless of what New Mexico and California have done."
New Mexico began issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants in March. Then on Friday, California Gov. Gray Davis, who is facing a recall election in October, signed a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, sparking hope among supporters in Arizona that lawmakers here will take a closer look at the proposal.
"I still don't think it's going to be that easy," said John Arnold of Tucson, president of Council 1088 of the League of United Latin American Citizens, an organization that favors the measure.
"But it will be very helpful when you have neighboring states that have done it and where we are sitting in the middle," Arnold said.
Senate President Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, said he believes California's law will have some impact in Arizona but probably not enough for the measure to pass anytime soon.
"It will make a little bit of difference . . . but it doesn't shift the needle from no to yes all at once," he said. He characterized the measure as a "Band-Aid" solution to the much larger issue of illegal immigration.
Instead of states issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, the federal government should be looking for ways to legalize their status, he said.
"Let's treat them like neighbors, not trespassers," he said.
But Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who fiercely opposes the measure, remains unswayed.
"The driver's license is the most acceptable ID in the nation. It's a passport in essence. It's almost legal status in essence. And when you accept that from folks who are not here legally or you accept identification that is not verifiable, you permit huge amounts of fraud," he said.
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So we get TEN quotes supporting the idea of giving illegal aliens driver's licenses and only ONE quote opposing it - and that one's buried in the second from last sentence of the article. Oh - now THAT'S some fair, balanced and objective reporting. EMAIL the Arizona Repugnant writer here: [email protected]And WTF is a Republican from Prescott, Sen. Ken Bennett, doing favoring a Federal illegal-alien amnesty program for??? I also understand my US Representative Jeff Flake and Senator Jon Kyl are also big supporters of some sort of "guest worker" (amnesty) program for illegal aliens too. Time for some emails and phone calls: Jeff Flake - (480) 833-0092, [email protected]Jon Kyl - (602) 840-1891, kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm
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