http://www.wral.com/apncnews/5287181/detail.html

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Five of North Carolina's seven Republican members of Congress want to cut off federal highway money to their state unless it makes it more difficult for illegal immigrants to get drivers licenses.

Reps. Sue Myrick of Charlotte, Walter Jones of Farmville and Charles Taylor of Brevard planned to introduce legislation Wednesday that could cut off $890 million in annual federal transportation money. The money represents about a quarter of North Carolina's annual $3.6 billion transportation budget.

"We are saying, 'If you want the federal money, than you are going to have to enforce the law,'" Jones said.

Reps. Patrick McHenry of Cherryville and Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk planned to join Myrick and Jones in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to promote the bill.

North Carolina's House delegation also includes Republican Reps. Howard Coble of Greensboro and Robin Hayes of Concord.

Critics say North Carolina has one of the nation's largest increases in illegal immigration in part because the state has looser drivers license requirements than those of other states.

North Carolina began using more computer checks and other security measures to guard against the use of fake IDs to obtain drivers licenses, said George Tatum, commissioner of the state Division of Motor Vehicles. It is against the law for people illegally in the United States to obtain a North Carolina drivers license.

Myrick wants to stop allowing immigrants to use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers issued by the Internal Revenue Service as identification to obtain a state drivers license. The IDs are issued to legal immigrants who do not have Social Security numbers, but critics say they are too easy to duplicate fraudulently.

The state Senate this year approved a measure to stop allowing taxpayer IDs to obtain a license, but it stalled in the House. Tatum said he believed the Legislature would pass the change when it returns in May.

An estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants live in North Carolina, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Hispanic Center.