LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Backers of an initiative that would require state and local law enforcement agencies to attempt to verify the immigration status of arrestees suspected of being in United States without documentation have received permission to begin gathering signatures, Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced today.
What author Donald Rosenberg has dubbed the “Children, Family, and Community Protection Act" would also require state and local law enforcement agencies to notify federal and state agencies when arrestees appear to be undocumented.
The initiative also makes any governmental entity, governmental agency, government official or employee, or any individual who fails to abide by terms of the initiative to be subject to a fine of not less than $10,000 for each offense.
The initiative would also repeal the law allowing California residents in the U.S. without legal authority to obtain or renew drivers' licenses or California identification cards. It would also prohibit automatic voter registration and require proof of U.S. citizenship before a registrant is permitted to vote in his or her first election.
If the initiative is approved by voters, it would result in a net increase in state and local law enforcement costs, potentially reaching the low tens of millions of dollars annually, related to cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, according to an analysis prepared by the Legislative Analyst and Department of Finance.
The initiative would also result in one-time and ongoing costs -- each potentially reaching several million dollars annually -- to state and local governments for the verification and retention of proof of citizenship prior to individuals voting in their first election, according to the analysis.
Valid signatures from 365,880 registered voters -- 5 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2014 general election -- must be submitted by Dec. 19 to qualify the measure for the November 2020 ballot, according to Padilla.
The initiative is authored by Donald Rosenberg, whose 25-year-old son Drew was killed in 2010 when he was on a motorcycle involved in a collision with a car driver by an unlicensed driver who was in the U.S. under a program called Temporary Protective Status.
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