Thread: ESCONDIDO: Maher supports licenses for illegal immigrants

ESCONDIDO: Maher supports licenses for illegal immigrants

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com |
Monday, May 11, 2009 8:08 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Advocates of granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants have an unlikely ally, Escondido police Chief Jim Maher, whom some Latino activists have criticized for his department's policy of conducting frequent checkpoints to crack down on unlicensed drivers.

Maher said Monday that the checkpoints reduce the city's hit-and-run crashes. He also said making sure that everyone has a driver's license, including illegal immigrants, is a matter of public safety in the city.

"It would mean that many, many people who are on the road (driving without a license) today would have proof that they've passed the written and driving test, and that they can read and understand traffic laws and traffic signs, and that they can easily obtain insurance," Maher said.

Since 2006, the Escondido Police Department has conducted nearly two checkpoints a month to check driver's licenses, including 17 in 2008. The department also conducted 11 checkpoints to catch drunken or unlicensed drivers.

The checkpoints have led to thousands of vehicles being impounded because the drivers were unlicensed. It has been illegal to give undocumented people driver's licenses in California since 1993, when the Legislature approved Senate Bill 976 requiring applicants to provide proof of legal U.S. residence.

Maher said he supports state Senate Bill 60, a measure written by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, that would give illegal immigrants driver's licenses.

Critics say that giving illegal immigrants licenses would reward unlawful behavior.

Maher said he has spoken to several groups, including Rotary clubs, about his support for granting the licenses and is looking to meet with lawmakers, including Cedillo, to discuss his views.

The licenses for people who cannot prove that they are in the country legally would look different from the regular licenses, and they cannot be used for anything else than driving.

Bill Flores, a spokesman for El Grupo, an umbrella group of civil rights organizations in the county, has been a critic of Escondido checkpoint policy. He said that the chief's support for the Cedillo bill is "of no consequence" and "a completely different issue."

"We want the checkpoints to stop," Flores said.

Maher said those who oppose the checkpoints would better serve the immigrant community by joining efforts to overturn the law barring illegal immigrants from getting licenses.

Cedillo has attempted to pass bills overturning the license law in recent years. Former Gov. Gray Davis vetoed bills overturning the ban in 2001 and 2002.

In 2003, Davis signed a bill approving the licenses, but that law was quickly overturned when he was replaced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since then, Schwarzenegger has vetoed several license bills because, he has said, the measures would undermine national security.

Most North County and Southwest Riverside legislators oppose efforts to give illegal immigrants licenses. Assemblyman Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad, said he has heard the public safety argument before, and is unmoved in his opposition to such bills.

"I have not, do not and will not support that," Garrick said in a phone interview Monday.

Cedillo's bill is in the Senate appropriations committee. It is opposed by several anti-illegal immigration groups and the American Civil Liberties Union, which says that the bill could lead to discrimination and racial profiling because the licenses for illegal immigrants would look different.

The bill has the support of some pro-immigrant groups, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.

http://nctimes.com/articles/2009/05/11/ ... 769d4b.txt

In 2003, Davis signed a bill approving the licenses, but that law was quickly overturned when he was replaced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since then, Schwarzenegger has vetoed several license bills because, he has said, the measures would undermine national security.

Well, looks like Arnold's not wrong on everything.