By Walter Rubel
Posted: 03/20/2015 04:23:32 PM MDT

SANTA FE >> "We have to get this issue behind us," Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said Friday in explaining why he and Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, introduced a compromise bill that would allow immigrants who entered the country illegally to obtain a license that would allow them to drive, but could not be used for federal identification.

The bill passed 35-5, with all Democrats and a majority of Republicans voting for it. It then moved over to the Republican-controlled House, which rejected an amendment earlier this session that would have done the same thing, instead passing a straight repeal bill.

House Speaker Don Tripp, R-Socorro, effectively killed the bill later Friday afternoon by referring it to two House committees, with just 18 hours left in the session.

The New Mexico Legislature voted in 2004 to allow immigrants to obtain a state driver's license, regardless of their legal status. Gov. Susana Martinez has pushed for repeal of that law each year since her election in 2010.

The bill passed Friday is modeled after driver's licenses issued in Utah, Smith said, and would create two classes of licenses. For legal residents, the license would include a gold star in the corner. For those here illegally, it would be clearly marked "Not for federal identification purposes."

Passage of the bill will "perpetuate and condone people entering the country illegally," said Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, one of five Republicans to oppose the bill.

But failure to pass it will leave the status quo in place, allowing immigrants here illegally to obtain driver's licenses no different that anyone else, countered Sen. William Payne, R-Albuquerque.

"This incontrovertibly will make it a little better," Payne said. "It may not be what we want. It's not the bill I want, but that bill is not before me. That bill never got here."

Sen. Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo, whose district extends into Doña Ana County, said when he ran for office, the driver's license issue was one of those he heard about the most.

"It's a big issue to the people in my part of New Mexico. But I'm pragmatic enough that we're not going to get to where all of us would like to be," he said. "I'm not certain the citizens of New Mexico will think this bill will do what we would like, but it's as close as we've come."

Smith noted that the Legislature has debated the issue every session since Martinez was first elected governor in 2010, and that he has supported her repeal efforts in the past.

"But obviously, that's not going to happen," he said.

"We've had this issue before us for five years. And in the meantime, 11 other states adopted a modification or something very similar to this issue."

Smith noted that there is growing pressure on states that have driver's licenses that are not compliant with federal Real ID laws. An extension was grated last year, and states now have until Oct. 1, 2020, to meet federal guidelines. Under federal law, those with licenses not compliant would be unable to board an airplane or enter a federal building without some other form of accepted government ID like a passport.

"We've got to recognize reality and step up to the plate and do what's right," Smith said. "We're hoping the administration will get on board and is sincerely willing to compromise."

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces...se-gop-support