Martin Sheen, Danny Glover and Diane Keaton are among a host of celebrities who are urging Arnold Schwarzenegger to back a bill allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

More than 30 actors, writers and musicians - also including CARLOS Santana, Emilio Estevez and Melissa Gilbert, have taken out an advertisement in the trade publication VARIETY urging California Governor Schwarzenegger to approve the bill, insisting it would make roads safer and that driving is a civil right.

The advert features a picture of an Hispanic woman with two young children and reads, "I am trusted every day to use my hands and my heart to nurture and care for children who are not my own... I am welcomed into the most personal parts of people's lives, but I'm not trusted with a license to drive a car.

"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has promised and has the power to help tens of thousands of others like me who care for your children and bring food to your table. All we want is for the Governor to keep his word so we can help ourselves."

An estimated 2.4 million people living in California are illegal immigrants and California began demanding proof of legal residency for driver's licenses in 1994.

25/01/2005 21:11