Spitzer new driver's license plan safer, still controversial
By MICHAEL GORMLEY | Associated Press Writer
2:21 PM EDT, October 28, 2007

ALBANY, N.Y. - Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Sunday that his new plan to make it easier for illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses while creating one of the most secure licenses in the nation is the result of conversations with an old friend, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

"There is enormous support from those who understand these are the objectives and these have been the objectives," Spitzer told The Associated Press. "There is also opposition from fringe on the other side who simply don't want to give the immigrant community any rights."

Spitzer's new plan is aimed at protecting the state's border with Canada from terrorism as well as easing cross-border economic growth of northern communities from Buffalo to Plattsburgh.

But early reaction found that it didn't satisfy Spitzer's critics and it may have angered immigrant advocates who supported Spitzer's original plan.

Under Spitzer's new administrative order, New York will be the fourth state to agree on federally approved secure licenses, following Arizona, Vermont and Washington.

New York will create three types of driver's licenses: a traditional state license; an "enhanced driver's license" that will be as secure as a passport; and a license that meets new federal standards of the Real ID Act _ a national and secure identification that would make it much harder for terrorists to get licenses.

But the license will be marked that it is not proof of legal residency in the U.S., and it could lead police and officials to suspect the holder may be an illegal immigrant.

"The plan we have created in conjunction with the federal government is one that accomplishes multiple objectives," Spitzer said.

"It's about time that Governor Spitzer is understanding of the fact that giving licenses without the requirement of a Social Security Number is flawed," said Republican state Sen. Martin Golden of Brooklyn. But he said the Senate's Republican majority will still seek to alter Spitzer's plan to make sure illegal immigrants can't get any version of the license.

"Regardless of it being a one- or two-tier system, the law requires Social Security Numbers to obtain a driver's license in New York State and can not be changed without legislative action," Golden said.

New York Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long agreed, saying Spitzer "still doesn't get it."

The advocacy group New Yorkers Against Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens also finds the new plan "fatally flawed" because illegal immigrants could still get a driver's license.

Spitzer had originally proposed no longer requiring a Social Security number for applicants and for those seeking renewals of driver's license. Critics in Albany and nationwide argued that the plan would eliminate the U.S. residency requirement for a driver's license and allow illegal immigrants _ and terrorists among them _ to obtain an important document that could lead to other documents and access to targets.

Spitzer had argued he wanted to license the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants "living in the shadows" to make traffic safer, reduce auto insurance premiums by insuring more drivers, and bolster public security by identifying more immigrants.

He said he loses none of his objectives in the new plan. But he also said he's unsure how many illegal immigrants will now seek licenses and said the reaction from the immigrant community to the plan is mixed.

The New York Immigration Coalition, which had applauded Spitzer's first plan, is outraged by the new policy. The group says a tiered system will have a "devastating" impact on immigrants.

"I think the statement from the secretary of Homeland Security that we now have among the most secure license in the nation is important," Spitzer said. "The first objective is security ... It is perhaps stronger now that we have the acknowledgment of the director of Homeland Security."

Spitzer said he has known Chertoff for more than 10 years, going back to Spitzer's life as a prosecutor and before, when Chertoff's wife went to Harvard Law School with Spitzer. Spitzer said long, collegial conversations with Chertoff over several weeks led to the change in policy.

That's something that wasn't happening in Albany, where Spitzer was pilloried by Republicans and some Democrats to the point that CNN commentator Lou Dobbs made the issue a nearly regular feature on his nightly program. Spitzer's record-high poll numbers also tumbled as more than 70 percent of New Yorkers in a Siena College poll said they opposed giving licenses to illegal immigrants.

But Spitzer said his change of heart on this issue doesn't signal a new approach to policy and politics in Albany.

"This was a consequence of many conversations and much working back and forth on good issues," Spitzer said. "At times we disagreed, but we worked our way through them."

"Governor Spitzer is still not listening to the millions of New Yorkers, and their elected representatives from both sides of the aisle, who want him to pull the plug on his ill-advised plan, not just make some changes," said Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno.
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