A top foreign relations official on Thursday lambasted California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of legislation that would have allowed undocumented migrants to obtain a driver's licenses in the state. The bill was approved by the California legislature on Aug. 27, but Schwarzenegger overturned it on Wednesday. It would have enabled an estimated 2 million Mexicans living in California to drive legally.
Juan Bosco Martí, general director for North American affairs with the Foreign Relations Secretariat (SRE) said in a press conference the Mexican government is very concerned by the action.
Bosco said the inability of undocumented workers to obtain a driver's license hurts all migrants in California, not just Mexicans.
"The Mexican government will continue to defend the interests of the Mexican community residing in California within the realm of the laws of the United States and California," he said.
Schwarzenegger announced he would veto the bill soon after it was passed, citing security concerns. He refused to sign the bill into law unless a special identifying mark appeared on the licenses. State lawmakers did not include the provision, however, arguing it would create a "scarlet letter" stigma against undocumented migrants.
Most of California's neighbors, including Utah, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii, don't require license applicants to prove legal residency in the United States. Nationally, nearly 40 states have the requirement, according to the Los Angeles-based National Immigration Law Center.
Bosco said the Mexican government would continue to promote the use of consulate-issued I.D. cards to help give migrants in the United States a means of identification that they can use to obtain U.S. drivers' licenses, bank accounts and other services.
The SRE says the cards are accepted as valid identification in 33 U.S. states, 1,180 police departments and 178 banks, and that it has issued 2.2 million of them since March 2002.
AP reporter Jim Wasserman contributed to this report.
