Thread: Rudy: No licenses for N.Y. illegals

Rudy: No licenses for N.Y. illegals

Oct 16, 2007

Count Rudy Giuliani among those opposed to New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to allow illegal aliens to obtain state driver's licenses.


"Governor Spitzer should not give licenses to illegals," Giuliani told the Republican Jewish Coalition this morning. "It doesn't make sense."


The former New York mayor also said, though, that Spitzer is facing a problem he shouldn't have to deal with — hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, who are the responsibility of the federal government.


Giuliani and other top Republican candidates spoke to the RJC this morning, and even before this audience, with its focus on international issues, immigration continues to dominate the presidential primary, popping up in the questions to each of the three candidates who spoke this morning.

— Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times


UPDATE 2:30 p.m.:

An opposing camp points out that Giuliani wasn't always so selective in dealing with all licenses.


In 1997, according to a New York Times story, the mayor changed city policies to clarify that illegal aliens should be allowed to get marriage certificates at the city clerk's office.


The issue arose because employees in the clerk's office were scrutinizing documents closely and some were refusing to issue marriage certificates to those who presented expired visitor visas as identity documents. Giuliani told reporters the issue was identity, not legal status.

http://video1.washingtontimes.com/dinan ... ega_1.html

Goulh-liani is making secrect trips down here to pave the way for the Trans-Texas Corridor. His law firm represents Cintra.

Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said illegal immigration is not a crime, prompting rival Mitt Romney to accuse him of not taking the problem seriously.

"It's not a crime," Giuliani said Friday. "I know that's very hard for people to understand, but it's not a federal crime."


Giuliani's comments came in an interview with CNN Headline News and radio talk-show host Glenn Beck.

"I was U.S. attorney in the Southern district of New York," he said. "So believe me, I know this. In fact, when you throw an immigrant out of the country, it's not a criminal proceeding. It's a civil proceeding."

Illegal immigration shouldn't be a crime, either, Giuliani said: "No, it shouldn't be because the government wouldn't be able to prosecute it. We couldn't prosecute 12 million people. We have only 2 million people in jail right now for all the crimes that are committed in the country, 2.5 million."