California Bill Would Allow Undocumented Immigrants to Practice Medicine

California Senate Bill 1159, recently passed in the state Senate, would allow undocumented immigrants to practice medicine, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Under the bill, state licensing boards would be permitted to accept applicants' taxpayer identification numbers as a valid form of identification rather than their Social Security numbers, which is the current requirement, according to the report. 

Supporters of the bill say the legislation would provide the nearly 2 million undocumented immigrants in California with an opportunity for upward mobility, according to the report.

Opponents of the bill believe it encourages illegal immigration. "By granting licenses to illegal immigrants you both aid and abet illegal immigration, which is a violation of federal law," said William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, in the report.

The bill is sponsored by California Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens).

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