Poll: 71 percent in NM oppose illegal immigrant licenses

Nearly three-fourths of New Mexico voters oppose a state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain drivers licenses, according to a new poll released Wednesday. The poll commissioned by The Albuquerque Journal found that 71 percent of the states likely voters, across ethnic and party lines, are against the 2003 state law; 21 percent say they support the practice while 8 percent are undecided.

The poll found that a majority of whites and Latinos, as well as voters in every region of the state, opposed the law. A Journal Poll in 2010, before efforts to end the practice were introduced at the state Capitol, found that 72 percent of voters opposed issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.

Updated: 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 | Posted: 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012
Associated Press

"The dialogue hasn't changed in the last two years, and neither has public opinion," pollster Brian Sanderoff said. Gov. Susana Martinez, after her election in 2010, frequently cited the broad majority of voters who voiced opposition to the illegal immigrant drivers licenses to defend her efforts to repeal the law during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions.

Martinez argued that providing illegal immigrants with drivers licenses was a public safety issue, and her administration cited instances in which out-of-state immigrants paid to be bused to New Mexico to acquire licenses using forged documents.

However, state Senate Democrats resisted repeal legislation passed by the state House in each of the past two years. Martinez, the nations first elected Latina governor, also faced strong opposition from immigrant advocates and various religious leaders, including Catholic Archbishop Michael Sheehan, of Santa Fe.

That coalition has supported amending the law to close fraud loopholes, but Martinez and GOP lawmakers said that would not support that. "We've had the governor making this matter one of her priorities," Sanderoff said. "With numbers like this, I suspect she'll keep bringing it up." The issue has become a factor in state legislative races as Republican-funded political action committees have begun targeting lawmakers who opposed outright repeal for their stance on the issue, Sanderoff said.

Among voters who identified themselves as Hispanic, 62 percent said they were opposed to the law allowing drivers licenses for illegal immigrants, 34 percent said they supported the law and 8 percent were undecided The new Journal Poll was conducted Sept. 3-6 by Research & Polling Inc.

The poll is based on land line and cellphone interviews with voters statewide. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. Marcela Diaz, of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a Santa Fe-based immigrant rights group who has fought repeal efforts, said other polls have shown that New Mexico voters also support amending the law and that the issue was not high on a list of voter priorities.