Thread: New Mexico’s governor plans to revoke licenses issued to i

GO MARTINEZ! GO NEW MEXICO! GO STATES! GO AMERICANS!

Yes, this woman is a true American Patriot. Next up, New Mexico needs an AZ immigration law. It will come. And soon. I hope. If Texas, New Mexico, California and Florida follow the Arizona lead and pass an AZ immigration law, our Southern Border would be secure. Add Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, and illegal immigration from the South would no longer exist.

Lets do it states. Lets get R done.

Well well, looks like the illegals backup plan has failed them! I knew something would give when they were talking junk in Spanish on the news here in AZ about going to NM because they could get a license there. And yes, they are that stupid to flat out say that on the news for everyone to hear.

Originally Posted by escalade

Illegals are not fluent or literate in English. How in the name of heaven can any DMV in any state administor a state driving license test in Spanish and issue a drivers license to someone who cannot technically READ all road signs which are written in English. This, to me, has always been beyond the scope of reality.

And it doesn't stop there, most state DMVs literally offer the test in 12 different languages.

Originally Posted by forest

Escalade wrote: ...drivers license to someone who cannot technically READ all road signs which are written in English...


Oh, settle down my heart. When I read this I had a brief waking nightmare of seeing road signs with both English and Spanish written on them! Then I woke up... Now ya'll hang on while I run out and make sure my road's signs are not dual language...

I can guarantee that will be next if something doesn't give.

Driver's license reform a priority for Martinez
By Milan Simonich Santa Fe Bureau
Posted: 01/22/2011 10:35:42 PM MST


SANTA FE - The men from Poland had settled near Chicago, but New Mexico offered what they coveted - driver's licenses without any proof of their immigration status.

Federal prosecutors in Albuquerque say the ringleader was a man named Jaroslaw Kowalczyk. They allege that, for $1,000 a person, he drove other Poles from Illinois to Albuquerque to exploit the New Mexico law that allows foreign nationals and even undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

New Mexico requires that applicants for driver's licenses live in the state and show a utility bill or lease as documentation. State police arrested Kowalczyk and two of his customers last summer after the address they listed turned out to be fake.

The U.S. government has charged Kowalczyk, 33, with smuggling illegal immigrants He is due back in court this week and could change his plea to guilty, according to court records.

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, a former state prosecutor, has made New Mexico's licensing system one of the early targets of her legislative agenda.

She says people in America illegally obtain driver's licenses in New Mexico, then use them to move throughout the country. Martinez wants to repeal the 2003 law that made it possible for undocumented immigrants to receive licenses.

"This is a priority for the governor this session," said her spokesman, Scott Darnell. "There will be multiple bills that address this subject, and we will review them all. Ultimately, the governor will support the bill that best achieves her central goal of ensuring that driver's licenses are no longer issued to illegal immigrants."

Since the law went into effect, New Mexico has issued more than 82,000 licenses to foreign nationals. Because of the way the system is set up, the state has no breakdown of how many of them were in the United States illegally.

In all, more than 1.6 million people have New Mexico driver's licenses. Even with the small percentage of licenses going to people without proof of U.S. citizenship, Martinez sees dangers in an era of terrorism and drug cartel wars in Mexico.

"If we're going to tell New Mexicans we're serious about securing the border, we must stop giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants," she said.

Legislators who voted to make it easier for undocumented immigrants to obtain licenses said the law would increase the number of drivers with auto insurance. They say it has succeeded because far more drivers carry coverage than before. A driver's license generally is necessary to buy insurance.

Richard Williams, police chief in Las Cruces, said the debate over licensing involves an important principle.

"Our driver's licenses should be reserved for the people who live in New Mexico," Williams said in an interview. "If the state is a haven for people trying to get licenses illegally, it's easy to see the problems associated with that."

Williams also said there is a certain advantage for police if more people are licensed to drive, provided they have accurately identified themselves. Licenses, he said, can make it easier to track people.

"My biggest concern would be, is this the person he is claiming to be?" Williams said.

Under New Mexico's law, people without a Social Security number can apply for a driver's license. They must provide an alternative means of identification. These would include a personal taxpayer identification number, a valid passport from their country of citizenship, a Matricula Consular card from the Mexican Consulate or a foreign birth certificate with a notarized English translation.

In the case of the Poles from Chicago, federal prosecutors allege, they saw New Mexico as a place where they could circumvent immigration law. Illinois will not issue a driver's license without proof of immigration status. New Mexico does.

Kowalczyk, according to court documents filed by prosecutors, even bought advertisements in a Chicago-area publication, the Polish Daily News. One said: "Drivers license in the State of New Mexico. Social security not necessary. 100% guarantee."

Eleven states once had laws allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver licenses. Eight of those states, including Maryland, Oregon and Hawaii, have overturned those laws. New Mexico, Washington and Utah are the three states were the law remains.

A handful of Republican legislators tried but failed to repeal New Mexico's law in 2005. Their bill died in a committee.

Democrat Bill Richardson was governor then. He supported making driver's licenses available to undocumented immigrants, and extolled the societal benefits of more drivers with insurance during his campaign for president in 2008.

But Martinez, with more Republicans in the state Legislature now, sees an opportunity to repeal the law. Even with money problems likely to dominate the 60-day legislative session, there will be time to focus on driver's license reform, she said.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_17171849

01/22/2011
Do licenses make NM a magnet for illegal immigrants?

A defendant of Polish extraction, Jaroslaw Kowalczyk, goes to U.S. District Court on Thursday for a case that may provide political momentum to Gov. Susana Martinez.

She wants legislators to repeal the New Mexico law that makes it possible for foreign nationals and even illegal immigrants to obtain state driver's licenses.

Martinez criticized the law twice this week, saying it is inconsistent to talk about border security when the state abets people who are in the country illegally by granting them licenses. With a New Mexico driver's license in hand, they are free to roam the country, Martinez said.

So how does a Pole fit into all this? Kowalczyk lived in the Chicago area, a place where Polish immigrants long have gravitated.

Federal prosecutors say Kowalczyk, 33, operated a scam in which he charged fellow Poles $1,000 each to drive them to New Mexico so they could obtain driver's licenses. Illinois checks immigration status before issuing licenses. New Mexico is one of three states that does not.

Prosecutors say Kowalczyk even placed an ad in a Chicago area newspaper, the Polish Daily News, to solicit customers. It read:

"Drivers license in the State of New Mexico. Social security not necessary. 100% guarantee."

New Mexico State Police arrested Kowalczyk and two other Poles last summer when they tried to obtain driver's licenses in Albuquerque. They gave a phony New Mexico address, police said, and that did them in.

People who seek New Mexico licenses must live in the state, and must provide a utility bill or lease to prove it.

So the police safety net worked that time. But how many other times did Kowalczyk or others obtain licenses illegally? Nobody knows.

The U.S. attorney's spokeswoman in Albuquerque would not comment on cases involving immigrants who travel to New Mexico for the sole purpose of getting a driver's license.

But court records show that the U.S. government charged Kowalczyk with smuggling illegal immigrants in the case last summer.

He and two of his alleged customers, Piotr Stelmach and Rafal Marzec, on Thursday are headed back to U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. Court records say they may change their pleas to guilty.

For Martinez, the case backs up her claim that New Mexico is a magnet for undocumented immigrants who want driver's licenses and will go to extraordinary lengths to get them.

Moreover, the Poles' arrests shows that not all the offenders come from neighboring Mexico.

New Mexico, Utah and Washington are the only states that grant licenses to undocumented immigrants. Eight other states have overturned similar laws. Hawaii did so just last summer.

New Mexico legislators in 2003 approved the law making it easier for undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. They said the system would increase the number of drivers with insurance. A driver's license generally is needed to buy insurance.

Various supporters of the bill say the number of uninsured drivers in New Mexico fell from about 30 percent to 10 percent because of the law.

The statistics, though, do not seem to track.

New Mexico has issued more than 82,000 licenses to foreign nationals, some of whom were in the United States illegally. Overall, more than 1.6 million people have New Mexico driver's licenses.

That means the licensing program for undocumented immigrants accounts for about 5 percent of the licenses. Claims that it was responsible for the cutting the number of uninsured drivers by two-thirds seem improbable.

Still, Martinez may have a hard time repealing the law. A Democratic Legislature approved the measure eight years ago, and Democrats still are the majority party.

But Democrats from the border and conservative districts may be inclined to go with Martinez on this one.

She also has more allies in the House than many expected. Democrats controlled that chamber 45-25 last year. Now the Democrats' edge is 37-33. Republicans picked up eight seats in the House, in addition to the governor's office, in the November election.

The first test, though, will be if any bill to kill the licensing system for undocumented immigrants can make it out of committee. House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, controls which bills go to which committees, and he might be able to bury any effort to overturn the licensing law, if he is so inclined.

Such a move could be dangerous politically. Public opinion about licensing undocumented immigrants is with the governor.

http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/newmexic ... rants.html

Driver's license reform a priority for Martinez

By Milan Simonich Santa Fe Bureau
Posted: 01/22/2011 10:35:42 PM MST

SANTA FE - The men from Poland had settled near Chicago, but New Mexico offered what they coveted - driver's licenses without any proof of their immigration status.

Federal prosecutors in Albuquerque say the ringleader was a man named Jaroslaw Kowalczyk. They allege that, for $1,000 a person, he drove other Poles from Illinois to Albuquerque to exploit the New Mexico law that allows foreign nationals and even undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

New Mexico requires that applicants for driver's licenses live in the state and show a utility bill or lease as documentation. State police arrested Kowalczyk and two of his customers last summer after the address they listed turned out to be fake.

The U.S. government has charged Kowalczyk, 33, with smuggling illegal immigrants He is due back in court this week and could change his plea to guilty, according to court records.

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, a former state prosecutor, has made New Mexico's licensing system one of the early targets of her legislative agenda.

She says people in America illegally obtain driver's licenses in New Mexico, then use them to move throughout the country. Martinez wants to repeal the 2003 law that made it possible for undocumented immigrants to receive licenses.

"This is a priority for the governor this session," said her spokesman, Scott Darnell. "There will be multiple bills that address this subject, and we will review them all. Ultimately, the governor will support the bill that best achieves her central goal of ensuring that driver's licenses are no longer issued to illegal immigrants."
Since the law went into effect, New Mexico has issued more than 82,000 licenses to foreign nationals. Because of the way the system is set up, the state has no breakdown of how many of them were in the United States illegally.

In all, more than 1.6 million people have New Mexico driver's licenses. Even with the small percentage of licenses going to people without proof of U.S. citizenship, Martinez sees dangers in an era of terrorism and drug cartel wars in Mexico.

"If we're going to tell New Mexicans we're serious about securing the border, we must stop giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants," she said.

Legislators who voted to make it easier for undocumented immigrants to obtain licenses said the law would increase the number of drivers with auto insurance. They say it has succeeded because far more drivers carry coverage than before. A driver's license generally is necessary to buy insurance.

Richard Williams, police chief in Las Cruces, said the debate over licensing involves an important principle.

"Our driver's licenses should be reserved for the people who live in New Mexico," Williams said in an interview. "If the state is a haven for people trying to get licenses illegally, it's easy to see the problems associated with that."

Williams also said there is a certain advantage for police if more people are licensed to drive, provided they have accurately identified themselves. Licenses, he said, can make it easier to track people.

"My biggest concern would be, is this the person he is claiming to be?" Williams said.

Under New Mexico's law, people without a Social Security number can apply for a driver's license. They must provide an alternative means of identification. These would include a personal taxpayer identification number, a valid passport from their country of citizenship, a Matricula Consular card from the Mexican Consulate or a foreign birth certificate with a notarized English translation.

In the case of the Poles from Chicago, federal prosecutors allege, they saw New Mexico as a place where they could circumvent immigration law. Illinois will not issue a driver's license without proof of immigration status. New Mexico does.

Kowalczyk, according to court documents filed by prosecutors, even bought advertisements in a Chicago-area publication, the Polish Daily News. One said: "Drivers license in the State of New Mexico. Social security not necessary. 100% guarantee."

Eleven states once had laws allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver licenses. Eight of those states, including Maryland, Oregon and Hawaii, have overturned those laws. New Mexico, Washington and Utah are the three states where the law remains.

A handful of Republican legislators tried but failed to repeal New Mexico's law in 2005. Their bill died in a committee.

Democrat Bill Richardson was governor then. He supported making driver's licenses available to undocumented immigrants, and extolled the societal benefits of more drivers with insurance during his campaign for president in 2008.

But Martinez, with more Republicans in the state Legislature now, sees an opportunity to repeal the law. Even with money problems likely to dominate the 60-day legislative session, there will be time to focus on driver's license reform, she said.

Santa Fe Bureau Chief Milan Simonich can be reached at msimonich@ tnmnp.com or (505) 820-6898. His blog is at http:// elpasotimes.typepad.com/ newmexico.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_17171849

Our View: Driver's License law should be repealed
Posted: 01/30/2011 01:00:00 AM MST


When New Mexico legislators passed a law in 2003 allowing immigrants who are in the country illegally to obtain a state driver's license, it was framed as a traffic safety issue. Many of those immigrants would likely be driving anyway, proponents argued, and allowing them to be licensed would increase insurance rates and make it easier for police making a traffic stop or responding to an accident.

Eight years later, the issue is now being framed as a national security issue. New Mexico is one of only three states in the nation that allows illegal immigrants to obtain a state driver's license. The other two states are far from the southern border - Utah and Washington. That has made us a magnet for those here illegally seeking official ID for any number of purposes, opponents of the 2003 bill charge. And, there is evidence to back that up.

New Mexico has seen a sharp increase in the number of driver's licenses issued to immigrants in the past year. And, a recent story by our Santa Fe bureau chief Milan Simonich detailing a scam in which Polish immigrants living in the Chicago area were applying for New Mexico licenses demonstrates that not all of those 13,000 are state residents looking to obey New Mexico traffic laws.

And, while the 2003 bill may have increased insurance rates somewhat, the Insurance Research Council still rates New Mexico as having the highest rate of uninsured drivers in the country.

Those applying for a driver's license still need to show two proofs of identification and two proofs of New Mexico residency, such as a utility bill or bank statement. But opponents argue those measures are not enough to ensure licenses are only going to New Mexico residents intent on driving. As a longtime prosecutor in Doña Ana County, new Gov. Susana Martinez has seen both the benefits and pitfalls of allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. In her State of the State address, she appealed to lawmakers to repeal the 2003 bill.

"And if we're going to tell New Mexicans we're serious about securing the border, we must stop giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants," Martinez said.

We also note that the 2003 bill has put New Mexico at odds with the federal government's Real ID Act. That has not caused problems for state residents yet, but the feds are threatening to prohibit use of our driver's licenses to board an airplane or enter a federal building.

We understand the intent of lawmakers in 2003, but believe times and circumstances have changed since then. New Mexico is out of step with the rest of the nation in granting driver's licenses to those here illegally, and should repeal the bill that allows for that to happen.

http://oneoldvet.com/

www.lcsun-news.com

Clone this gal! This is great news,..... in New Mexico? Will wonders ever cease?