News Bytes

California Governor Gray Davis has signed into law a bill granting undocumented residents the right to obtain a driver’s license. Davis, who twice vetoed similar legislation, said the law will help make California roads safer. Critics said the Governor was just pandering to Hispanic voters just a few weeks before the recall election. Appearing on a local television program, Davis responded to the criticism by saying it was “clearly not pandering if most people are against it,” referring to a recent poll finding that 59% of Californians were against the bill.

“You couldn’t get food at a reasonable cost without farm workers who toil in the hot sun. I believe we need to honor their hard work, which subsidizes our economy,” Davis said.

Prominent recall election challenger Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would immediately “lead the fight” to repeal the law if he is elected governor. State Sen. Tom McClintock, another GOP candidate, said he was also against the law, calling it a “dangerous measure.” Independent candidate Arianna Huffington said she supported the new law, as did Green Party candidate Peter Camejo and Peter Ueberroth, a GOP candidate who recently dropped out of the race.

Davis said the bill he signed was more to his liking because it was more simple than the first two and any problems in the bill that may arise could be addressed later.

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A recent Department Of State cable has been circulated informing posts of the upcoming expiry of the SR Immigrant Visa, a special category for religious workers. The visa category is set to expire on September 30, 2003, and although “Congress is considering an extension, there is no certainty when legislative action may occur,” the cable reads. Under the provisioning of the SR visa, applicants must have entered the U.S. before October 1. The Department Of State has advised BCIS officers to expedite processing of I-360 petitions filed for SR category beneficiaries.

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The Department of Homeland Security has announced the appointment of Dr. David Bolka to become the first director of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) for the Department’s Office of Science and Technology. HSARPA is the external research funding arm for the Department.

Prior to joining HSARPA, Bolka held senior scientific and technical management positions at Lucent Technologies, AT&T’s Bell Laboratories and the Naval Sea Systems Command. Bolka served 26 years in the Navy, retiring as a Captain in 1986.

According to the Department, Bolka’s appointment “will play a critical role in moving forward revolutionary changes in technologies that promote homeland security, to advance those technologies which are “critical” and to “accelerate the prototyping and deployment of technologies that reduce homeland vulnerabilities.”

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The AFL-CIO, a federation of 60 unions, along with other legalization advocates, is holding an “Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride,” September 20 – October 4, in order to advance the cause of immigrant workers living and paying taxes in the United States. These workers “deserve the rights to legalize their status, to have a clear road to citizenship, to reunify their families, to have a voice on the job without regard to legal status, and to enjoy full protection of their civil rights and civil liberties… rights denied by their undocumented status and outdated laws,” organizers said. More information about the rallies is available online at http://www.iwfr.org.