Representatives from law enforcement, the dairy industry, labor groups and religious organizations urged lawmakers this morning to approve a provision in the state budget that would provide limited driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

The state Senate last week stripped the provision out of the budget after the Assembly had signed off on it. A series of speakers this morning asked the Senate to reverse course, stressing it was not an immigration issue, but rather about providing safe roads in Wisconsin.

Dairy farmer John Rosenow of Cochran said many immigrants working in rural Wisconsin studied for driver's license exams and took the test to obtain licenses prior to the approval of the federal REAL ID bill. Since then, he said there has not been a drop in the number of immigrants driving on rural roads but rather a decrease in safety.

"The only issue here is safety," Rosenow said.

Speakers at this morning's news conference singled out state Sen. Tim Carpenter as a key member of the Senate that they plan to lobby to restore the provision.

Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, issued a statement this morning saying that 90 percent of the constituents who have contacted his office on the issue oppose the provision. He also expressed concerns that it was added to the budget without opportunity for public testimony or comment.

"Rarely have the voters in my District expressed opinions so overwhelmingly against an issue," Carpenter said in the statement.

Carpenter had a meeting planned with representatives of Voces de la Frontera scheduled for this morning to talk about this issue.

UPDATE: Following an hour-long meeting with advocates, Carpenter refused to back down from his opposition to the driver's license provision.

Carpenter reiterated the opposition his constituents have expressed to the proposal as well as his concerns over its late addition to the budget by the Joint Finance Committee with no public hearing.

The advocates urged Carpenter to ignore what he's heard from voters and instead focus on what they believe is a matter of fairness and human rights. They also insisted illegal immigrants would continue to drive even without the licenses.

"As a legislator, I'm not going to change laws just because someone says they're going to do it anyway," Carpenter said.

Speaking at an event in Madison today, Gov. Jim Doyle said he'd have to see what comes to his desk on the driver's license provision, but he hopes that his proposal to allow the children of illegal immigrants who graduate from Wisconsin high schools to pay in-state tuition rates is restored to the final budget sent to him.

-- By JR Ross