Posted on 09/05/2003 1:34:53 AM PDT by truth_seeker
Schwarzenegger Vows to Fight Licenses for Illegals
Thu September 4, 2003 06:23 PM ET
By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After weeks of accusations that he was ducking controversy, Arnold Schwarzenegger seized on one of the state's most bitterly debated issues on Thursday, vowing to fight a California law granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
The Democratic-controlled California Senate on Wednesday approved the legislation and sent it to Gov. Gray Davis, who has promised to sign it "in a heartbeat" while wooing Hispanic voters in an Oct. 7 recall election.
The measure has infuriated conservatives across California and Schwarzenegger -- a Republican who has called for tighter controls on the U.S. border with Mexico as he battles state Sen. Tom McClintock for the party vote -- wasted no time in weighing in.
"If Gray Davis signs this bill I will lead the fight to repeal it as governor," the Austrian-born film star, who became an American citizen in the mid-1980s, said in a statement.
"I am an immigrant," he said. "I waited for 10 years to get my American citizenship and I know first-hand how immigrants who come to this country and obey the laws have struggled to achieve their dreams. I am pro-immigrant. But we should not invite fraud or undermine law enforcement."
Supporters of the bill, who include Schwarzenegger's top Democratic rival, Lt. Gov Cruz Bustamante, say the bill will make roads safer because it will require immigrants who already get behind the wheel without a license to pass a California driver's test for the first time.
They also see the legislation as part of a larger push toward the acceptance of millions of illegal immigrants in California, most working in unskilled agriculture and service jobs and living in the poorest neighborhoods.
CRITICS CITE POTENTIAL FOR VOTER FRAUD
Opponents say the bill could allow illegal immigrants to vote, create an incentive for others to follow them across the border and allow terrorists to obtain valid state identification without being subjected to background checks. It is also expected to cost California taxpayers tens of millions of dollars amid record budget deficits.
Immigration has also become an issue in the recall campaign, with Bustamante attacking Schwarzenegger as "anti-immigrant" for his support of Proposition 187, a voter-approved measure denying taxpayer-funded services to those in the country illegally.
Davis, who once vetoed similar legislation over terrorism concerns, has been accused of pandering to Hispanic voters during the recall by promising to sign a bill with even fewer security restrictions.
Schwarzenegger spent Thursday campaigning in the southern California city of Riverside, where he urged a boisterous crowd of 400 to vote and fended off accusations that he had ducked the campaign's first debate, which was held on Wednesday night.
Peppered by reporters with questions about his decision to skip the forum, the "Terminator" star said he and wife Maria Shriver instead attended a parent-teacher conference for one of their four children.
Schwarzenegger also said he had returned a campaign contribution from the union representing Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies because he did not want to be compromised if elected governor.
"We don't want to take money from unions," the film star said. "We don't want to get into something where we feel we owe something to the unions. That's the biggest problem in Sacramento right now."
Schwarzenegger, who has been criticized for saying at the outset of the campaign that he would not accept any donations and later accepting them, also characterized that early pledge as a "mistake."
"I wasn't clear enough," he said. "There are so many people who want to support the campaign but most of the money comes from Maria's and my accounts."
California voters will be asked in the recall election next month whether to boot the embattled Davis from office and choose a replacement from a field of more than 130 candidates.
At this juncture, my guess is that Davis is thinking long, and hard, about going ahead and signing this disaster.
If he does, it should hurt him for the recall, which by most indicators is a done deal.
Arnold wants illegal aliens to be allowed to stay here and to recieve free public educations, but at least for the moment he claims to be opposed to them having drivers licenses.
Two-faced with a finger to the wind.
CRITICS CITE POTENTIAL FOR VOTER FRAUD
That is the standard leftist argument. The Pyler decision dealt with a state law that failed to set forth an economic justification, unlike 187. Further, Arnold did not argue "Pyler", he argued that illegal aliens "should" be provided with public educations, in direct contradiction to his dishonest claim to support Proposition 187.
Schwarzenegger seems to have all the dishonest posters making false assertions backing him.
You might check out post #9 below
And who use vast amounts of social services paid for by others. And who don't insure their cars, and when they have an accident they either split the scene, or get slapped on the hand.
These people are parasites and should be deported - immediately !
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