Thread: New Mexico Committee Rejects Restrictions on Driver’s Licenses Despite Evidence of Ma

New Mexico Committee Rejects Restrictions on Driver’s Licenses Despite Evidence of Massive Fraud

February 1, 2012 By FAIR Gov't Relations Team

On Thursday, a committee in the New Mexico House of Representatives rejected legislation that would help prevent illegal aliens from receiving state driver’s licenses. (Associated Press, Jan. 26, 2012) The bill, H.B. 103, failed on a party-line vote in the House Labor and Human Relations Committee, with 5 Democrats voting against and 4 Republicans voting for the measure. (Alamogordo Daily News, Jan. 26, 2012)

H.B. 103 proposes changing New Mexico’s law in several important ways. First, it would strike existing language that allows a driver’s license applicant to submit an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security Number on the application. (See H.B. 103 § 1) Because the IRS issues ITINs to illegal aliens for the purposes of filing tax returns, this loophole has allowed illegal aliens to easily get driver’s licenses in New Mexico. (See IRS Publication 1915 (Rev. 1-2012) p. 10)

Second, H.B. 103 requires foreign nationals who apply for a driver’s license to submit the unique identifying number of the alien’s passport or visa plus the expiration date of the alien’s authorized period of admission. Under the bill, a driver’s license issued to a foreign national shall expire on the date the alien’s authorized stay expires.

(H.B. 103 § 3) Finally, H.B. 103 makes similar changes to New Mexico’s laws regulating applications for state identification cards. (See H.B. 103 §§4-7)

Remarkably, the New Mexico legislators rejected H.B. 103 despite new and compelling evidence that the State’s process for issuing driver’s licenses is riddled with fraud. Just days before the vote, the Associated Press revealed that its investigation into the New Mexico driver’s license applications showed that dozens of people used the same business and residential addresses to obtain driver’s licenses. (Associated Press, Jan. 25, 2012)

This is particularly significant as applicants without Social Security Numbers must provide the state documents that establish residency. In one instance, the Associated Press wrote, “48 foreign nationals claimed to live at a smoke shop in Albuquerque to get a license. In another case, more than a dozen claimed to live at an automotive repair shop over a one-year period.” (Id.)

Members of the House Labor and Human Relations Committee, however, ignored this evidence during the committee hearing Thursday. Instead, the Democratic members stripped H.B. 103 of its original language and replaced it with language that would still allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses, but only for a two-year duration. (Alamogordo Daily News, Jan. 26, 2012)

They also added language that would increase the penalties for fraudulently trying to obtain a driver’s license. (Id.) House Majority Leader Ken Martinez said these provisions will “really hit the bad guys hard.” (Associated Press, Jan. 26, 2012)

Representative Andy Nunez, author of H.B. 103, said he wasn’t surprised that the House Committee rejected his bill. (Id.) However, he also said that if the bill could reach the House floor, he felt confident that he had the votes needed for it to pass. (Associated Press, Jan. 26, 2012) Whether it will pass the Democratically-controlled Senate is uncertain. (Id.)

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has been a strong advocate for ending the state’s practice of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. (See FAIR Legislative Update, Sept. 6, 2011)

During her State of the State speech last week, she urged legislators to support repealing current law, citing polls in her favor. (Associated Press, Jan. 24 2012) “This issue has been debated thoroughly,” said Martinez. “The desire of New Mexicans is clear. And it’s time to vote to repeal this law.” (Id.)

Since New Mexico changed its law in 2003 to grant driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, more than 90,000 licenses have been issued to foreign nationals. (Associated Press, Jan. 26, 2012)

New Mexico Committee Rejects Restrictions on Driver

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