Florida Gov. Bush says illegal workers should be allowed to drive legally, after screening. Critics say the bill would reward lawbreakers.

By John-Thor Dahlburg
Times Staff Writer

MIAMI — Four months after California repealed a law allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has thrown his support behind a bill that would let the estimated 400,000 foreigners illegally working in this state to get licenses following background checks.

"We shouldn't allow them to come into the country to begin with, but once they're here, what do you do?" the president's brother said Monday. "Do you basically say they are lepers to society? That they don't exist?"

Foes of the proposal, however, complained that it would reward lawbreakers, and they predicted it would have a rough ride in the Legislature.

One observer of the state political scene said the measure seemed to be the latest Republican attempt to woo Latinos, the largest minority group in this key political battleground.

According to Bush, the bill he supports includes enough safeguards so that potential terrorists could not benefit. To obtain one of the special driver's licenses — which would be valid for two years — a foreigner in Florida illegally, as well as others who reside here legally for a portion of the year, would need the consulate or embassy of his or her home country to verify identity. They also would have to pay for criminal background checks performed by their country of origin, as well as by law enforcement agencies of Florida and the federal government.

Citizens of countries the U.S. government classifies as "state sponsors of terrorism" would not be eligible.

"This bill strikes a balance between safety on the roads and the everyday fact that people need to drive to survive," said Jacob DiPietre, a Bush spokesman in Tallahassee.

With a driver's license, DiPietre said, an illegal immigrant would be able to purchase insurance, thus reducing the burden on the public in the event of a collision. Law enforcement agencies also would benefit, the governor's spokesman said, since new drivers would be fingerprinted and have information about them entered in official databases.

"This is not political. This is solid, sound policy," DiPietre said.

However, Lance deHaven-Smith, a political scientist at Florida State University, said the timing of the bill — sponsored by Republican state Sen. Rudy Garcia — led him to believe there were "underlying political motivations."

With a presidential election fewer than seven months away, "the Republicans desperately need to recruit non-Cuban Hispanics into the party," deHaven-Smith said. Cuban Americans have been a dependable Republican constituency in Florida for decades; but because of dramatic population shifts, they now account for less than a third of the state's Latinos, who comprise 16.8% of the total population of 16 million.

People of Mexican origin account for more than 13% of Florida Latinos, and there are more than 1 million residents from other Latin American nations — including Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

The driver's license bill, deHaven-Smith said, seemed especially designed to appeal to Mexican Americans and other non-Cubans who make up a majority of the Latinos of central Florida. Winning in Orange County — which includes the Orlando area — is one of President Bush's campaign goals. In 2000, the county voted Democratic for the first time since 1948.

Unless Republicans can recruit a broader range of Latinos into the party, deHaven-Smith said, "they won't be a majority party in Florida past 2010 or so."

A similar license law signed by former California Gov. Gray Davis was seen as contributing to his defeat in last year's recall election. Overturning the law was one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's first acts.

Although Republicans control both houses of the Legislature, one key lawmaker predicted Tuesday that the driver's license bill, despite the public backing given by Gov. Bush, was in for tough sledding.

"If we find out that a person is an illegal alien, they should be deported from the country, not given a driver's license," said state Sen. Mike Haridopolos of Melbourne. "The last thing we want to do is encourage illegal immigration, and in my opinion, this bill will do that."

Haridopolos, a Republican who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, was the only one of 13 senators to vote against the bill during a committee hearing last week. But he said the bill would be examined by several other committees, and that the state House also would be giving it careful scrutiny.

"This is an issue where the governor and I don't see eye to eye," the senator said. Recalling that several of the Sept. 11 hijackers had Florida driver's licenses, Haridopolos said the elevated terrorist threat made it even more essential not to make life easier for anyone who is illegally in the country.

Bush said he "would prefer to have our borders be secure, that we deport people when they are found to be here illegally." But, the governor added, "that's not a responsibility of the state. We are prohibited from being a part of that."
 

  Undocumented immigrants
  Legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to acquire a driver's
license has stirred debate in California and Florida, two of the top five
states in unauthorized immigrant population.
  Estimated share of U.S. illegal immigrants
  California    31.6%
  Florida          4.8%
  Illinois           6.2%
  New York    7.0%
  Texas          14.9%
  Other states 35.5%.
  Total U.S. estimated unauthorized resident population
  1990: 3.5 million
  2000: 7.0 million
  Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  Associated Press Graphic

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
©2004