SACRAMENTO – Ignored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and short on cash, a grass-roots Republican group yesterday abandoned an initiative campaign to bar illegal immigrants from obtaining driver licenses and other public benefits.
The broader debate over illegal immigration, however, is certain to continue to play out in Washington, where President Bush is pushing new federal policies, and in California, where Schwarzenegger is tangling with Latino activists over driver licenses.
With a Tuesday deadline looming, campaign leaders counting signatures realized they were as many as 150,000 short of the number needed to qualify the measure for the ballot. The daunting challenge forced them to concede.
Mike Spence, leader of the effort, blamed the setback on an inability to attract donations to cover the cost of paying signature gatherers.
"We didn't have enough money," he said.
Spence and others were hoping for backing from Rep. Darrell Issa, a wealthy Vista Republican, that never materialized. Issa, who bankrolled much of the signature gathering to qualify the recall of then-Gov. Gray Davis in 2003, kept his checkbook closed this time.
A millionaire by virtue of his car-alarm business, Issa did provide mailing lists and urged his followers to sign the petitions, Spence said.
"He did more than quite a few others did, even though we didn't get any money," Spence said.
Issa could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The campaign also was hurt when the Republican governor decided to sit on the sidelines.
"I think it's old hat. I mean, I've (got) no interest," Schwarzenegger said this summer.
Francisco Estrada of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said the campaign's collapse showed that Californians want "meaningful immigration reform that will move the state forward and not cause another ugly and divisive fight."
State Sen. Gil Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat who has doggedly pursued a legislative solution, said, "We need to bring our society together."
If the initiative had been successful, he said, "the results would have been a segregated society."
Cedillo's short-lived law to give driving privileges to those in the country illegally had fueled the initiative campaign.
After then-Gov. Davis signed a Cedillo bill that contained few security safeguards, the California Republican Assembly – representing the conservative wing of the party – mounted a referendum campaign that helped fan the recall. The threat of a referendum, and pressure from Schwarzenegger, ultimately forced Democrats to repeal the law.
Last year, Spence's Save Our License group launched a broader initiative modeled after Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot measure that sought to eliminate most public services to illegal immigrants. Voters approved the measure, but its essential provisions were tossed out by the courts.
In addition to restricting licenses to legal residents, the latest initiative would have barred illegal immigrants from receiving such benefits as welfare, disability payments, college scholarships and housing subsidies.
Supporters of the measure argued that the state, struggling under the weight of staggering budget deficits, can't afford to offer services to those who break the law.
Initiative backers needed 373,816 signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot.
Although there will be no vote in California, the push to bar illegal immigrants from obtaining driver licenses is alive in Congress. The House approved a measure earlier this month that would force states to verify legal residency of those applying for licenses.
However, that measure is expected to be caught up in a broader debate over Bush's plans to reshape immigration policy. In December, the president directed his transportation and Homeland Security teams to draw up license requirements within 18 months.
Californians involved in the debate are closely watching events unfolding in Arizona. Voters there approved a similar measure to limit the benefits available to illegal immigrants. The law has withstood early legal challenges.
Additionally, Utah's state Senate voted yesterday to take away driver licenses from people who can't prove they are legal U.S. residents and instead issue them a driving "privilege" card, The Associated Press reported.
In New York, a state judge ruled Thursday that the Department of Motor Vehicles can't take away licenses issued to those who can't provide a Social Security card or other proof of legal residency. According to The New York Times, the judge said the Department of Motor Vehicles cannot enforce immigration law by seeking to suspend some 300,000 licenses.
Despite the California initiative's failure, Spence said those opposed to licenses for those here illegally will regroup, particularly if Schwarzenegger signals that he plans to sign a compromise that distinguishes nonlegal residents, similar to the pending measure in Utah.
"When this is all said and done, we cannot trust the Legislature," Spence said.
The Save Our License committee was embarrassed earlier this month by disclosures that it had not filed required reports on fund-raising and campaign contributors, even though it apparently has generated and spent more than $400,000.
Spence said the committee expects to be punished by the state Fair Political Practices Commission for missing the reporting deadlines. The campaign also appears to be in the red, he said.
"We'll file in the next week," Spence said yesterday. "This is a volunteer organization. Our treasurer made a mistake."
Copley News Service correspondent James P. Sweeney contributed to this report.
