Dateline: DANA POINT, CaliforniaArnold Schwarzenegger criticized Gov. Gray Davis' support of a bill granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, the same day the governor signed the landmark legislation.
Schwarzenegger, the leading Republican candidate in the Oct. 7 recall election, said Friday that Davis flip-flopped on his support for the bill and added that the new law raises security concerns.
Schwarzenegger said he would try to repeal it if he is elected.
"As you know, our own governor was vividly against this a few months ago," he said after a speech to the California Chamber of Commerce. "Now it's election time _ of course everything changes."
Granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants has become a central campaign issue, with candidates seeking to stake their ground on immigration-related matters.
Schwarzenegger, a native of Austria who spoke little English when he arrived in the United States in 1968, said that although he opposes the bill, no other candidate is as sympathetic to the plight of immigrants as he is.
"I don't need to get a lesson from anyone else about immigration because I've been there," he told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday.
Davis signed the bill before hundreds of cheering supporters in Los Angeles. The predominantly Hispanic crowd waved flags, mostly U.S. but also those of Mexico and various Central American countries. Hispanics account for about 16 percent of California's registered voters.
"If you are going to contribute to our economy, you have the right to drive to work," Davis said afterward. "Everyone benefits by having drivers on the road who know the rules of the road and presumably be a safer driver."
"I think we have to be honest about our dependency on people to do jobs Americans will not," Davis said earlier.
The bill the governor signed will take effect Jan. 1. It will help illegal immigrants obtain licenses by allowing them to submit a federal taxpayer identification number or some other state-approved form of identification instead of a Social Security number.
Davis had vetoed two similar bills, citing law enforcement's concerns about the legislation, but during a campaign rally last month he said he would sign this version.
The bill, however, did not contain features the governor demanded earlier, such as requirements that applicants pass criminal background checks and be in the process of obtaining legal documentation.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer withdrew his support of the bill this week after a provision was removed requiring a high-tech identification system known as biometric fingerprinting.
A group of conservative Republicans, including Sen. Tom McClintock, planned to launch a ballot initiative to overturn the law, said Jeff Evans, a spokesman for a group called Save Our License.
Meanwhile, about 100 protesters rallied outside Schwarzenegger's campaign office in Santa Monica, upset at what they said were disparaging comments about women attributed to him in a series of magazine interviews.
In a 1977 interview, for example, the then-29-year-old bodybuilding champion discussed his sexual exploits and a group sex encounter in a Venice gym.
At a building across the street from Schwarzenegger's office, members of the organization CodePink unfurled a pink banner that read, "Arnold, you're terminated."
"He owes an apology to women he has abused and the women of California," said Karen Pomer, a spokeswoman for the group.
A Schwarzenegger spokesman dismissed the group's allegations as untrue and said the comments were taken out of context.
Also Friday, a panel of three federal judges refused to postpone the Oct. 7 recall election. The panel in San Jose acted after the U.S. Justice Department made a formal determination that Monterey County's hurriedly assembled balloting plans did not violate federal law.
An ACLU lawsuit challenging the use of punch-card ballots in six counties is still pending in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A hearing is scheduled Sept. 11.
California's Oct. 7 recall election will determine whether to remove Davis, a Democrat, from office. In the special election, which required nearly 900,000 signatures to be held, voters will be asked two questions: whether to recall the governor, and who should replace him.
The recall effort has been fueled by discontent over the state's weak economy, California's $38 billion budget deficit and an energy crisis that the state endured in 2001.
___
Associated Press Writers Laura Wides, Rachel Konrad and Jeremiah Marquez contributed to this report.
Schwarzenegger, Davis spar over immigrant driver's license bill00-00-0000
Dateline: DANA POINT, CaliforniaArnold Schwarzenegger criticized Gov. Gray Davis' support of a bill granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, the same day the governor signed the landmark legislation.
Schwarzenegger, the leading Republican candidate in the Oct. 7 recall election, said Friday that Davis flip-flopped on his support for the bill and added that the new law raises security concerns.
Schwarzenegger said he would try to repeal it if he is elected.
"As you know, our own governor was vividly against this a few months ago," he said after a speech to the California Chamber of Commerce. "Now it's election time _ of course everything changes."
Granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants has become a central campaign issue, with candidates seeking to stake their ground on immigration-related matters.
Schwarzenegger, a native of Austria who spoke little English when he arrived in the United States in 1968, said that although he opposes the bill, no other candidate is as sympathetic to the plight of immigrants as he is.
"I don't need to get a lesson from anyone else about immigration because I've been there," he told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday.
Davis signed the bill before hundreds of cheering supporters in Los Angeles. The predominantly Hispanic crowd waved flags, mostly U.S. but also those of Mexico and various Central American countries. Hispanics account for about 16 percent of California's registered voters.
"If you are going to contribute to our economy, you have the right to drive to work," Davis said afterward. "Everyone benefits by having drivers on the road who know the rules of the road and presumably be a safer driver."
"I think we have to be honest about our dependency on people to do jobs Americans will not," Davis said earlier.
The bill the governor signed will take effect Jan. 1. It will help illegal immigrants obtain licenses by allowing them to submit a federal taxpayer identification number or some other state-approved form of identification instead of a Social Security number.
Davis had vetoed two similar bills, citing law enforcement's concerns about the legislation, but during a campaign rally last month he said he would sign this version.
The bill, however, did not contain features the governor demanded earlier, such as requirements that applicants pass criminal background checks and be in the process of obtaining legal documentation.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer withdrew his support of the bill this week after a provision was removed requiring a high-tech identification system known as biometric fingerprinting.
A group of conservative Republicans, including Sen. Tom McClintock, planned to launch a ballot initiative to overturn the law, said Jeff Evans, a spokesman for a group called Save Our License.
Meanwhile, about 100 protesters rallied outside Schwarzenegger's campaign office in Santa Monica, upset at what they said were disparaging comments about women attributed to him in a series of magazine interviews.
In a 1977 interview, for example, the then-29-year-old bodybuilding champion discussed his sexual exploits and a group sex encounter in a Venice gym.
At a building across the street from Schwarzenegger's office, members of the organization CodePink unfurled a pink banner that read, "Arnold, you're terminated."
"He owes an apology to women he has abused and the women of California," said Karen Pomer, a spokeswoman for the group.
A Schwarzenegger spokesman dismissed the group's allegations as untrue and said the comments were taken out of context.
Also Friday, a panel of three federal judges refused to postpone the Oct. 7 recall election. The panel in San Jose acted after the U.S. Justice Department made a formal determination that Monterey County's hurriedly assembled balloting plans did not violate federal law.
An ACLU lawsuit challenging the use of punch-card ballots in six counties is still pending in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A hearing is scheduled Sept. 11.
California's Oct. 7 recall election will determine whether to remove Davis, a Democrat, from office. In the special election, which required nearly 900,000 signatures to be held, voters will be asked two questions: whether to recall the governor, and who should replace him.
The recall effort has been fueled by discontent over the state's weak economy, California's $38 billion budget deficit and an energy crisis that the state endured in 2001.
___
Associated Press Writers Laura Wides, Rachel Konrad and Jeremiah Marquez contributed to this report.
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