Nearly 1 million illegal immigrants could live and work openly in California with little or no fear of deportation under an initiative unveiled by a Hispanic state legislator

Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, a Latino Democrat, is helping spearhead the measure, called the California Opportunity and Prosperity Act. The proposal has been filed with the state Attorney General's Office, marking a first step toward a drive to collect the 504,760 voter signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Republican, blasted the proposal as an attempt to sidestep immigration law. He predicted that it wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning voter approval. "There's a proper process for coming to this country," Donnelly said. "Why don't you respect that?"