Thread: N.M. House sends immigrant driver's license bill to Senate

House sends immigrant driver's license bill to Senate

Steve Terrell |
The New Mexican
Posted: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 - 2/9/12

Once again the state House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to pass a political-hot-potato bill that would repeal the state law allowing the state to issue driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Following a nearly four-hour debate, the House voted 45-25 to pass Senate House Bill 103, sponsored by Rep. Andy Nuñez, I-Hatch.

The bill, which is strongly supported by Gov. Susana Martinez, now goes to the Senate, which last year heavily amended a similar House bill, effectively killing it.

Wednesday's vote showed a larger margin of support for repeal in the House than last year. Three Democrats who voted against last year's bill -- Rep. Nick Salazar of Española, Henry "Kiki" Saavedra of Albuquerque and George Dodge of Santa Rosa -- voted for HB 103.

A total of 11 Democrats joined all 34 House Republicans and independent Nuñez in backing the bill.

Santa Fe's delegation -- House Speaker Ben Luján, Luciano "Lucky" Varela, Jim Trujillo and Brian Egolf -- all voted against the bill. All four are Democrats.

Elsa Lopez, an activist with Somos un Pueblo Unido, a local immigrant-rights organization, said her group wasn't surprised by the vote. Though she's hopeful that the Senate will once again stop the driver's license bill, she said people in the immigrant community fear that the bill is only the first one to be aimed at immigrants. "It starts with driver's licenses," she said, noting that years before Arizona passed a controversial law on checking a person's immigration status, the state had stopped issuing driver's licenses to immigrants.

The Arizona law requires police officers to check the immigration status of individuals whom they've stopped and for whom they have "reasonable suspicion" of being in the United States illegally.

However, supporters of the House bill rejected the argument. "This is not about immigration, it's only about public safety," the governor's chief of staff told reporters shortly after the vote. He said the administration will not push a law like Arizona's. "There's no desire to do immigration law. The governor has said in public that we're not in the business of doing immigration law."

Nuñez said the same thing. "The Arizona law is too harsh," he said.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com

House sends immigrant driver's license bill to Senate - The Santa Fe New Mexican

House approves NM immigrant license repeal

Posted at: 02/08/2012 5:32 PM | Updated at: 02/08/2012 6:53 PM
By: Russell Contreras, The Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - House lawmakers have voted to repeal a state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

The full 70-member House approved the repeal Wednesday by a vote of 45 to 25.

The repeal backed by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez now goes to the state Senate where a similar measure failed last year. Democrats hold a stronger majority in the Senate than in the House.

Passage of the repeal came after House lawmakers rejected two alternatives that would have allowed illegal immigrants to hold some sort of state-issued documents to drive in New Mexico.

New Mexico and Washington are the only states that grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and others without a Social Security number. Utah issues a special permit allowing immigrants to drive.

House approves NM immigrant license repeal | KOB.com

They just keep trying don't they? Unbelievable how states can even consider giving a driver's license to anyone who isn't suppose to be here in the first place. It's illogical but then I'm not a politician!

New Mexico law currently allows illegal aliens to get licenses.
This bill would stop them from getting licenses.
It would repeal the current law.
Which is why we want it to be passed.

We may have a good shot at victory this year. We worked hard last year but fell short. We put the ALIPAC national volunteers on this hard on Monday and now we need to go after the NM Senate!

W

Added to the Homepage with amended title
http://www.alipac.us/content/n-m-hou...mmigrants-156/

What is this bill number?????

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

What is this bill number?????

W

House Bill 103

House passes bill rescinding driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants; heads to Senate now
by Marla on February 8, 2012 in Illegal Immigration, Tom Tancredo with No comments Via: New Mexico Watchdog, By Rob Nikolewski

Although the debate lasted just over three hours — instead of the six-plus hours from last year — and the rhetoric from at least one opponent was inflammatory, the House of Representatives on Wednesday (Feb. 8th) passed a bill on a 45-25 vote to repeal the law in New Mexico that grants driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.

Just as he did in last year’s 60-day legislative session, Rep. Andy Nuñez (I-Hatch) carried the bill (House Bill 103) that Republican Gov. Susana Martinez says is necessary to ensure public safety but opponents say singles out Hispanics and encourages undocumented workers to go into hiding.

Before the vote, Rep. Nuñez predicted the margin of victory would be wider than it was last year and he was right, as the measure picked up three more Democrats than it did in 2011. But getting the state Senate to pass the bill onto Gov. Martinez will be a much tougher hurdle to clear as the Senate has a solid 28-14 edge in Democrats.

“We’re going to have to work on the Senate,” Nuñez said after the floor session. “We had a pretty wide margin here, 45-25, and I think they [senators] should be considering that. Whether they will or not, it’s hard to say.

”“Our community’s future is at stake,” Elsa López of the immigrants rights group Somos Un Pueblo Unidos said after the vote, adding that she thinks if HB103 becomes law it will lead to a series of other laws aimed at undocumented workers. “This is a repeat of Arizona,” López said.But the chief of staff for Gov. Martinez flatly rejected that. “The governor has said this isn’t about immigration,” Keith Gardner said after the vote. “We have no desire to do that [imitate bills introduced in Arizona]. We are not in the business of doing immigration law. That’s a federal issue.

”During Wednesday’s debate, supporters of HB103 beat back a number of substitutes from Democrats that tried to offer variations on the bill, such as provisions allowing illegal immigrants to drive in the state with permits that could not be used for identification purposes or allowing undocumented workers to drive but tightening restrictions and instituting fingerprinting to avoid fraud.

“Lawful status — that’s the issue,” said Rep. Dennis Roch (R-Texico), comparing the proposed changes to sleights of hand. “I’m not going to fall for the illusion and I don’t think the people of New Mexico will either.”

At the end of the debate Rep. Miguel Garcia (D-Albuquerque) spoke for more than 20 minutes in his opposition to HB103. Rep. Garcia, who gained some attention last month when he sent out a letter decrying a redistricting judge’s ruling as “return to Jim Crow 21[st] century style,” said there’s “a campaign of hate” surrounding such measures.

Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D-Albuquerque) then blasted the Nuñez bill, saying “If you tell a lie … people will start saying it, then they will start to believe it,” comparing it to acts of the “propaganda ministers of Nazi Germany.” We asked Nuñez about that comment after the vote: All of the Republicans in the House voted for HB103, along with 11 Democrats. Here are the 11 D’s who voted for the Nuñez bill:

Ray Begaye of Shiprock

Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces

George Dodge of Santa Rosa

Dona Irwin of Deming

Sandra Jeff of Crownpoint

Rhonda King of Stanley

Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup

Al Park of Albuquerque

Debbie Rodella of Española

Henry “Kiki” Saavedra of Albuquerque, who said “Shame, shame on New Mexico” after last year’s voteNick Salazar of Ohkay Ohwingeh

House passes bill rescinding driver House passes bill rescinding driver

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