Activists in LA announce gas station boycott over immigrant license bill veto

Hispanic activists on Monday called for a weekly boycott of California gas stations as a way to resurrect an immigrant driver's licenses bill vetoed earlier this year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pro-immigrant groups urged motorists to avoid buying gas every Monday through next year or until lawmakers allowed illegal immigrants to apply for licenses. "It's a prolonged campaign of pressure to obtain licenses for immigrants regardless of their status," said Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association and Hermandad Mexicana, after announcing the "Dark Mondays" boycott at a gas station in downtown Los Angeles. Several outside observers questioned the effectiveness of the proposed boycott. "Obviously people can arrange not to buy gas on Monday but arrange to buy gas on all other days," said Stephen Levy, senior economist at the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. The strategy was designed as a response to Schwarzenegger's veto in September of a measure approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature that would let upward of 2 million immigrants drive legally. Schwarzenegger has said the bill ignored his requirement of key security safeguards -- an identifying mark that would differentiate them from licenses held by U.S. citizens and legal residents. [more]