Governor Hasn’t Been a Border Activist

Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has flung himself into the roiling debate over illegal immigration in recent weeks, he had virtually ignored the issue since being elected.

He made immigration a campaign theme in 2003 by promising to block driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants -- which he did, in his first major official act -- and to secure more federal funds to deal with it.

But a review of Schwarzenegger’s public speeches and statements shows he has been silent, with a few exceptions, on an issue that has raised alarm across the political spectrum. Lawmakers and immigrant groups say he has been absent behind the scenes as well.

“The governor has a lot of power, but he has been utterly unwilling to use it on this issue,” said Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat from Sherman Oaks. Sherman said the governor traveled to Washington “to be ‘the Collectinator’ but has done nothing.”

Republicans echoed that observation, in milder tones, saying Schwarzenegger has been busy with his plans for overhauling state government.

After a congressional agreement on border protection, which includes fortification of California’s border with Mexico near the San Diego coast and more stringent requirements for driver’s licenses, all sides are hoping Schwarzenegger will weigh in further.

The pending federal legislation, dubbed the Real ID Act, would require every applicant for a driver’s license to prove legal residency in the United States. People whose driver’s licenses were not issued with proper documentation of legal status would be prohibited from boarding an airplane or doing anything else requiring federally recognized identification -- a major incentive for states such as California to continue barring illegal immigrants from getting licenses.

Minuteman Fan

Schwarzenegger has been alternately lauded and labeled a racist since he praised the work of the Minuteman Project, in which a group of armed citizens patrolled the border between Arizona and Mexico last month. His comments were encouraging to groups that oppose illegal immigration in California.

Previously, those groups said, Schwarzenegger had done little of substance to shut off state services to people in the country illegally. Nor had he brought significant attention to the issue of border security and the costs to taxpayers of illegal immigration, such as schooling, healthcare and imprisonment for crimes, they said.

“When you are governor of California, it’s the elephant in the middle of the living room. You have got to deal with it,” said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

“To the extent that he has been dealing with it, he has been flying below the radar.”

Since being elected, Schwarzenegger has made few statements on immigration.

In January 2004, he praised the Bush administration for proposing a guest worker program to allow undocumented workers to remain in the U.S. That month, he also helped swear in 207 sailors and Marines as U.S. citizens.

The governor has sent three letters to congressional leaders and President Bush urging them to help “stem the flow of illegal immigration” and provide more federal tax dollars to pay for the incarceration of illegal immigrants. He has talked to the president about the issue on visits to Washington.

But the efforts have not produced any significant increase in federal funds for California or more Border Patrol agents. Congress has proposed adding 2,000 Border Patrol agents nationwide, but Bush called for 210 in his budget plan.

Bush this year proposed ending all funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which reimburses states for incarcerating illegal immigrants. The program will provide $78.5 million this year to house 18,000 illegal immigrants who have committed felonies and to monitor 5,700 on parole -- $655.8 million less than California spends, according to the state.

The state also spends an estimated $328 million providing labor and delivery services for illegal immigrant women who give birth in public hospitals. During his campaign for governor, Schwarzenegger promised to “put immigrants on a path to citizenship,” punish immigrant smugglers and promote English language use.

This year, Schwarzenegger proposed eliminating a state office that coordinates local health agencies along the California-Mexico border and ending a $1.5-million program that helps immigrants become citizens. In both cases, he has cited a lack of state money.

Some groups say Schwarzenegger needs to repair his relationship with Mexico, the state’s largest trading partner. Schwarzenegger has not made an official visit there.

“That is a definite message that he sends to the public and to Mexico, that they are not a factor and the people who come from Mexico are not a factor to be considered,” said Nativo V. Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Assn.

Last summer, Schwarzenegger attended a conference of governors from border states, but the focus was energy policy, not immigration. Last week the governor explained, “Energy was one of the most important things that we should tackle.”

Until the governor brought up the Minutemen, “everything around immigration issues has been relatively quiet,” said Christian Ramirez, director of the San Diego office of the American Friends Services Committee, which works on immigrant rights and social justice.

Groups at the opposite end of the debate said similar things. Mehlman said Schwarzenegger could have tried harder to overturn a California law that allows illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges instead of the higher nonresident rate. The measure died in the Senate this year.

Silent Treatment

Barbara Coe, chairwoman of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform, which has posted billboards near the border labeling California the “illegal immigration state,” said the governor has been silent about cutting off public services. And he stood aside when activists were trying to collect enough signatures for a ballot initiative banning driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, she said.

“Lord knows we’ve done a great deal of communicating with him,” Coe said. “We have never gotten a response back from him. Those who would get a letter back would get a form letter, which is meaningless.”

Coe said she was thrilled by the governor’s recent comments on the Minuteman Project and by an earlier remark that the U.S. should “close” -- later amended to “secure” -- the border. Margita Thompson, the governor’s spokeswoman, said Schwarzenegger has stepped up his comments about illegal immigration because the public is concerned. She said he labeled a billboard promoting a Spanish-language TV station “divisive” because it implied Los Angeles was now part of Mexico.

“It was an issue that rose to his level,” she said.

Republican lawmakers defended the governor as well. State Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks said Schwarzenegger “deserves great credit and gratitude” for demanding that the Legislature overturn the law granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from Huntington Beach, said having a charismatic figure such as Schwarzenegger demanding more border controls is a welcome change. He said that given the $500-billion federal deficit, Schwarzenegger should not be faulted for failing to get more federal money.

Meanwhile, Rohrabacher said, the governor has been focused on a possible special election to shake up state government.

“Schwarzenegger ... has been 100% committed to various economic and political reforms in California,” Rohrabacher said. “No one should fault him for not having taken up yet another cause.”

Schwarzenegger has been quietly negotiating with Democratic lawmakers to provide a modified driver’s license for illegal immigrants that would prominently display their noncitizen status.

Nothing firm has resulted from the talks, both sides say.