Thread: Feds release ID standards

Feds release ID standards
But they do little to resolve the state's long-standing dispute over driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
By Aurelio Rojas - Bee Capitol Bureau

Last Updated 12:37 am PDT Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A3

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The federal government has released long-awaited draft regulations creating a national standard for driver's licenses, but left California and other states to deal with the emotional issue of illegal immigrants.

The Real ID Act regulations -- which will require all 23 million California drivers to go in person to Department of Motor Vehicles offices -- do not prohibit states from issuing licenses to illegal immigrants.

But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who previously said the state would wait until the regulations were issued before grappling with the issue, now wants to wait until the federal government enacts an immigration overhaul.

The release earlier this month of the regulations, expected to be finalized this fall, is likely to reignite debate in the Legislature over illegal immigrants.

For the ninth consecutive year, state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, has introduced legislation -- Senate Bill 60 -- that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

The legislation is likely to collide with a bill by Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, whose Assembly Bill 1433 is the Schwarzenegger administration's vehicle for conforming with the Real ID Act.

Huff said he isn't "interested in legitimizing" driving by people who are in the country illegally. But Cedillo predicted the Democratic-controlled Legislature will block any bill that doesn't allow driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

"The governor will never see a bill for Real ID that doesn't have (illegal) immigrants in it," Cedillo said.

Huff dismissed Cedillo's scenario as "part of the legislative process," and quipped "the governor has a little bit to say about what's signed into law."

"And so far, in working with the administration, (allowing illegal immigrants to drive) is not something that has been calculated into this," Huff said.

Unless California conforms its licensing procedure to the federal standards, the state's licenses will not be accepted for federal purposes, such as entering government buildings or boarding airplanes.

Upon his election in 2003, Schwarzenegger persuaded Democratic legislators to repeal a bill signed by Gov. Gray Davis that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain licenses.

Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger, said the governor will not revisit the issue until the federal government enacts both the Real ID regulations and "comprehensive immigration reform."

"He wants to wait until we can verify that people are who they say they are," Lockhart said. "He also wants comprehensive immigration reform."

She noted that in vetoing Cedillo's bill last year, the Republican governor said it would be premature for California to allow illegal immigrants to apply for driver's licenses without an immigration overhaul.

Schwarzenegger had previously cited only the Real ID regulations.

Prospects for immigration-law changes have increased since Democrats took over Congress last year. But Cedillo said "it will take years" for the process to play itself out, and hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are already driving in California.

The Real ID Act was signed in 2005 by President Bush as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Eighteen of the 19 hijackers obtained fraudulent identification, including driver's licenses, from California and other states.

The act attempts to prevent this by requiring verification and adding electronic security features. Beginning in May 2008, states will have to begin scanning identity documents into computers and maintaining records for up to 10 years.

In California, where applicants now have to provide only a Social Security number and birth certificate to apply for licenses, they will also have to show proof of residency, said Mike Marando, a spokesman for the state DMV.

For residents who now can get a license renewal twice by mail -- and theoretically put off a trip to the DMV for 15 years -- renewals will require DMV office visits.

Marando estimated that it will cost California $500 million over five years to comply with Real ID regulations, which are undergoing a 60-day public comment period.

Cedillo has crafted his current bill to comply with the act, requiring that licenses granted to illegal immigrants be distinct in appearance. They could be used for driving only and not as a form of national identification. Under SB 60, applicants would have to submit identification documents from their native countries and be photographed and fingerprinted. Anyone with a criminal conviction would have been ineligible.

Cedillo noted the federal Transportation Security Administration, which sets airline security requirements, accepts identification issued by foreign governments, including the Mexican card known as "matricula consular."

He also noted the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled police cannot impound vehicles solely because they belong to unlicensed drivers who are in the country illegally.

Cedillo argues that with the Real ID Act about to be enacted, granting driver's licenses can no longer be dismissed as a national security issue.

"It's a highway safety issue," he said. "Now that the (regulations) are out, we've run out of excuses."

The Bee's Aurelio Rojas can be reached at (916) 326-5545 or arojas@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/136778.html

Then what's the POINT of RealID if people in the country illegally are going to be given licenses. It makes it totally worthless. I thought that was one of the driving forces behind the ID movement. Giving an illegal a license is giving them the "keys to the kingdom." Insanity!

Cedillo is the one who keeps introducing Bills to give illegals driver's licenses here. Seems like every year he introduces it worded a little differently and every year it gets shot down. He needs to get the message! This whole thing is BS, they just keep playing games.

Originally Posted by gofer

Then what's the POINT of RealID if people in the country illegally are going to be given licenses. It makes it totally worthless. I thought that was one of the driving forces behind the ID movement. Giving an illegal a license is giving them the "keys to the kingdom." Insanity!

Exactly!

"One bill Gil" again! He lives for getting this bill passed.

I dont even care about Gil. The real ID is a Scam.