California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto legislation that would allow nearly 2 million illegal immigrants who pass criminal background checks to obtain driver’s licenses, a spokeswoman said Saturday.
The Democratic-controlled California Senate and Assembly approved bills Friday, the final day of the legislative session, to allow illegal immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses.
The legislation was similar to a measure, signed into law by former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, that Schwarzenegger vowed to have revoked during his campaign for governor last year. The Legislature repealed the law after Schwarzenegger’s election.
The latest measure included new provisions such as requiring illegal immigrants to pay for fingerprint background checks. But Margita Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Republican governor, said Schwarzenegger would veto it because it still did not provide enough guarantees to prevent would-be terrorists from entering the state and creating new identities.
“Security background checks (provided for in the legislation) are not sufficient for us to determine that the people who are getting licenses are the people they say they are,” Thompson said.
She added the governor also wanted licenses for illegal immigrants to be distinguishable from standard driver’s licenses, a provision not included in the legislation passed by state lawmakers.
Minority groups have argued that allowing illegal immigrants, many of whom are Hispanics, to obtain driver’s licenses could make the state’s roads safer because license holders would need to pass a driver’s test and buy car insurance.
Critics have said allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses would reward those who break immigration laws.
A representative for Democratic state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo, who led the push to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, was not immediately available to comment. REUTERS