Judge blocks New Mexico governor on immigrant driver license

Judge blocks New Mexico governor on immigrant driver licenses

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 7:26 p.m. CDT



SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - A New Mexico judge blocked on Wednesday a drive by the state's Republican governor to make it harder for illegal immigrants to keep driver's licenses in the state.

Governor Susana Martinez's administration last month ordered the state to reverify the physical residency of foreign nationals who hold New Mexico driver's licenses in order to get or keep their licenses.

But District Court Judge Sarah Singleton in Santa Fe issued a temporary restraining order blocking the program, arguing in a brief ruling that "irreparable injury" would occur from "constitutional deprivations to the applicants."

Martinez, a former prosecutor who made a crackdown on illegal immigration the centerpiece of her election campaign, issued the requirement after a bill to ban licenses for illegal immigrants died in the state legislature earlier this year.

Some officials fear the state's lenient driver's license rules were making New Mexico a magnet for illegal immigrants from out-of-state seeking licenses unavailable to them where they live. They say the measure would cut down on fraud.

Opponents of the recertification process, however, have argued it unfairly singles out individuals based on whether they were born in the United States.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which had sued to block the recertification, said the injunction was an "important protection for the constitutional rights of all New Mexicans", especially those it said were unfairly targeted.

It has described the governor's move as unconstitutional and a waste of state money.

"MALDEF will continue to fight throughout this legal process to obtain a final end to this licensing scheme and to restore the rule of law," Martha Gomez, a staff attorney for MALDEF, said in a statement.

New Mexico is one of three states, including Utah and Washington, that allow illegal immigrants to lawfully obtain driver's licenses provided they show proof of residency.

The other states bordering Mexico -- Arizona, California and Texas -- do not allow it.

Governor Martinez' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

A spokesman for the governor had previously described the lawsuit as an effort to stop the state's work in confronting "the identity theft and fraud that exists due to the issuance of driver's licenses to illegal immigrants."

http://wsau.com

Sure she did.

Judge Sarah Singleton was appointed by illegal alien hugging former Governor Bill Richardson.

Dixie

[b]“Pay to playâ€

Eye popping info Newmexican. 8O

What a corrupt racket! :x

I think the judge Is out of bounds here.... It Is ALREADY CAUSING IRREPARABLE HARM TO LEGAL CITIZENS ~ What about their "constitutional rights " :!: :twisted: :!: These liberal loon judges are helping to destroy this nation ... This crap has to stop :!:

Do illegal aliens have constitutional rights? I thought you had to be a citizen.

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-6550--0-0.html

Obuzzard and Holder. Period

New Mexico Judge Blocks State Plan To Verify Immigrant Licenses

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/341964/thu...S-large570.jpg

SANTA FE, N.M. -- A New Mexico judge blocked Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration Wednesday from requiring tens of thousands of immigrants to recertify their driver's licenses and verify whether they continue to live in the state.

Martinez last month announced the residency verification plan, which represents the administration's latest effort to focus attention on the state's politically charged license policy, which the governor contends poses a security risk.

New Mexico is one of three states – the others are Washington and Utah – where an illegal immigrant can get a driver's license because no proof of citizenship is required.

Under the residency verification plan, New Mexico sent notices to people that they must schedule an in-person appointment and bring documents, such as a utility bill or lease agreement, to prove they live in the state. The administration plans to cancel licenses of people who no longer are New Mexico residents.

Martinez wants the Legislature to repeal New Mexico's license policy by requiring people to have a Social Security number, which is not available to someone living in the country illegally, to obtain a driver's license. The governor's proposal failed in the Legislature earlier this year but she's renewing her push when lawmakers return to work next week in a special session.

District Court Judge Sarah Singleton on Wednesday issued an order temporarily halting the license residency verification program while it's being challenged in court.

A lawsuit was filed last week by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund against the administration's plan to check a random sample of 10,000 license holders who are foreign nationals.

The lawsuit contends that the license certification program is illegal because it discriminates against one segment of the population – foreign nationals. The suit also contends the governor doesn't have the power, without approval from the Legislature, to in effect require certain people to reapply for a driver's license.

David Urias, an Albuquerque lawyer helping to handle the case, said the judge's ruling was important "because it protects the rights of the people who are being ordered by the MVD to come before it and prove their identity and residency, even though the MVD has absolutely no reason to believe that any of these particular individuals did anything wrong."


Scott Darnell, a spokesman for the governor, said the judge's order was "fairly standard as the court examines the residency certification program."

"In the absence of the Legislature acting to put an end to the program that provides driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, the governor has the responsibility to identify and attempt to curb the dangerous fraud and identity theft that is inherent in it," Darnell said in a statement.

Wednesday was the last day of regularly scheduled appointments for residency certification. Any future appointments, according to the administration, would have been for people who had not yet complied or when the state lacked a forwarding address after the initial notice couldn't be delivered.

Of the 10,000 letters sent out, more than 30 percent have been returned as undeliverable for some reason.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of several Democratic lawmakers and a Hispanic woman – a foreign national from Mexico who has been living legally in the state for more than a decade.

Marcela Diaz of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, an immigrant rights group, said in a statement that the license verification program "is nothing more than a bullying tactic that intimidates and threatens people for no reason."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/3 ... 44325.html

Update---Demonstrators celebrate setback on Gov. Martinez's effort to ban driver's licenses for immigrants

http://www.kob.com/kobtvimages/repos..._090111(1).jpg

Updated at: 09/01/2011 10:33 PM
By: Stuart Dyson, KOB Eyewitness News 4

Demonstrators rallied Thursday evening to celebrate a courtroom setback against Gov. Susana Martinez's crusade to ban driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

"It is wrong," said rally organizer Rachel Lazar. "It is unjust. It is immoral to target a large percentage of our community and it is hurtful and it only divides us."

The protesters partied in front of the Albuquerque offices of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, the agency that oversees the state Motor Vehicle Division.

The rally-goers treasure the state's eight-year-old law allowing the licenses, and they vow to fight the governor's renewed attempt to strike it down in next week's special session of the legislature.

"Susana Martinez doesn't have the interests of New Mexicans in mind," said protester Cecil Nightingale. "She's a very vitriolic lady and all of her policies are geared against the lower socio-economic people."


The governor knows the polls show a big majority of voters are in her corner on this issue, and recent revelations of license fraud by foreigners can only help her cause.

However on Wednesday, a district court judge slammed the brakes on her policy requiring foreigners with New Mexico licenses to come forward and show proof that they actually live in the state.

One of the state lawmakers suing the governor on that issue was in the crowd this evening.

"That's why I was one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit," said Rep. Miguel Garcia, a South Valley Democrat. "We're trying to uphold the integrity of our state constitution, the separation of powers. The governor can only do so much. She can't do anything if we don't authorize it through the state legislature."

The legislature convenes in special session starting at noon next Tuesday.


http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s226 ... ro+News%29

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http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1263462.html#1263462