Assembly Bill AB 4, introduced by Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) would prohibit local law enforcement agencies from detaining people for deportation if they are living in the country illegally and are arrested for a minor crime.
"Innocent people have been deported," says Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), and "seven of every ten immigrants deported under the program were not convicted of any major crime."
This kind of logic leaves us to wonder how these seven out of ten illegal immigrants happen to be in the U.S. in the first place? Were they somehow forced across the border against their will . . . or otherwise placed in some sort of bondage such that it did not occur to them they were in violation of U.S. immigration law
But there's more. In contradiction to a long standing rule of law, local Assemblyman Luis Allejo (D-Salinas) introduced AB 60 which would allow drivers licenses to be issued to persons unable to prove their residence is in accordance to federal law.
The argument here is that illegals may well be poorly trained to drive which creates a hazard on the road and unlicensed drivers cannot obtain insurance. Accordingly, fear of being arrested results in constant anxiety for illegals driving on American roads and our legislators certainly don't want these unauthorized residents to feel uncomfortable while driving.
To overcome existing law section 12801 (c) (1) of the proposed legislation reads as follows: "An applicant who is unable to provide satisfactory proof that his or her presence in the United States is authorized under federal law may sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury attesting that he or she is both ineligible for a social security account number and unable to submit satisfactory proof that his or her presence in the United States is unauthorized authorized under federal law." It should be noted this affidavit is not a public record, and Section 12801 (2) "The submission of this affidavit shall be accepted by the department (DMV) in lieu of a social security account number."
Because "under penalty of perjury" is deleted from this legislation, applicants can offer false statements without penalty - indeed, it encourages a loose treatment of fact. Someone who knows, beyond a reasonable doubt, he is in the country illegally can truthfully state he cannot provide satisfactory proof his presence in the U.S. is authorized under federal law and this affidavit also satisfies the social security requirement.
But there is more: the "Motor-Voter law" allows the DMV to register licensed drivers as voters? The Registrar of Voters for Monterey County has informed me that applicants for the privilege of voting must declare "under penalty of perjury" they are an American citizen. Since any illegal applying for a driver's license has already been allowed a loose treatment of fact, what possible deterrent would prevent an outright untrue statement under oath? They certainly are not going to be deported because California Legislators do not consider those who have violated Federal Immigration laws as having committed a "major" crime.
Since I could find no provision in this legislation which specifically prohibits those who submit this so-called "affidavit" from qualifying as a registered voter, I have inquired of local Assemblyman Mark Stone and Senator Bill Monning if there is any such prohibition in place. To date, there has been no response.
There was a time when it was considered a privilege to be an American Citizen. People from all over the world respected our nation's immigration laws and assumed the responsibility of learning our language because they had a compelling desire to be an American citizen.
Regrettably, this respect appears to have vanished and, indeed, why should anyone become a citizen if the privilege of driving and possibly even voting is allowed without an obligation to pay taxes? It appears, at least in California, the inmates have taken over management of the zoo.
For those keeping score, local State Senators Bill Monning(D), Anthony Cannella®, local Assemblymen Luis Allejo(D), and Mark Stone(D) voted for both AB 4 & AB 60, and Governor Jerry Brown has indicated he will sign AB 60 when passed.