Crowd protests Maddox’s license vote

Deepa Bharath

More than 20 people outside Assemblyman Ken Maddox’s office Friday

evening protested his decision to vote against a law allowing

undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, which was

repealed by the Legislature last week.

Hundreds of people infuriated by the repeal of Senate Bill 60 took

to the streets in East Los Angeles and other areas to kick off a

daylong boycott to coincide with the feast of the Virgin of

Guadalupe.

In Costa Mesa, they congregated at the intersection of Harbor

Boulevard and South Coast Drive, holding up posters that read: “We’re

mad at Maddox,” “No license, no work” and “No human being is

illegal.”

The protesters were a mixed group. A few were simply residents.

There were also representatives from the Green Party and members of

an Aztec group called the Atlachinolli Front.

California’s economy is one that is being supported by immigrants

-- legal or illegal, said Kimberly Claytor, a science teacher at

Estancia High School.

“These immigrants need to get the dignity they deserve,” she said.

Protester Ce Coatl said she believed it was “scandalous” that

Maddox spoke at a meeting of the California Coalition for Immigration

Reform, a group that opposes illegal immigration and believes that

the United States should close its borders.

“I question his ability to represent this community if he aligns

himself with such groups,” Coatl said.

Maddox, who is the Orange County chair for the initiative against

SB 60, said this protest or any other is not going to change his

stance on illegal immigration.

“It’s a colossal waste of their time,” he said about the

protesters. “I’m against giving driver’s licenses to those who are

here illegally.”

The law had “no security measures in place,” Maddox said.

“You can’t expect the DMV to know what military ID cards from

other countries look like,” he said. “They have no way of knowing if

they’re looking at counterfeit ID cards.”

Maddox said he spoke to members of the anti-immigration group

because they asked him.

“I was invited to speak to an organization in my district,” he

said.

A handful of coalition members also stood on the sidewalk to show

their support for the assemblyman.

Protester Diane Blair said politicians such as Maddox don’t

represent the “new Orange County.”

“Orange County is not as Republican as it used to be,” she said.

“We’re no longer behind the orange curtain. It’s crazy that these

people want immigrants to pick their tomatoes, do their dishes and

watch their kids but won’t give them drivers licenses.”

Maddox disagreed with the “racist” label the protesters had given

him.

“I have an ethnically diverse office,” he said. “What I’m

concerned about is illegal immigration, which has taken a toll on our

health and education system and drained our city and county

resources.”

He has not been able to have a “mature discussion” with the

protesting groups, Maddox said.

“I think they’re just people who are angry and feel the need to

channel their anger at someone,” he said.

Several protesters led by Claytor walked up to the assemblyman’s

office to talk to him.

Claytor, who opened the door, asked if she could talk to Maddox.

“I think we’re done,” he replied with a smile.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].