New Mexico Gov. Martinez pushes new license-policy change

El Paso Times (Texas)
February 12, 2011
By Milan Simonich
SANTA FE, NM

New Mexico residents hate the fact that illegal immigrants can obtain state driver's licenses, and they want the law changed, Gov. Susana Martinez said Friday.

She urged people to tell their legislators to repeal a 2003 law under which people can get New Mexico driver's licenses without proof of their immigration status.

"Giving licenses to people who are here illegally is wrong," Martinez said during a news conference.

With one bill to reform the driver's license system halted this week, Martinez went on the offensive for an even stricter proposal.

She wants passage of a bill by Rep. Andy Nunez, who recently bolted the Democratic Party to become an independent.

Nunez, of Hatch, joined Martinez and four Republican lawmakers at the news conference. Eight years ago he supported the bill that allowed illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, a decision he said he regretted.

His proposal, HB 78, will require persons to have a valid Social Security card to get a driver's license.

He said he was reworking the bill to revoke the licenses of foreign nationals, some of whom are in the country illegally.

Sen. John Ryan, R-Albuquerque, is carrying a companion bill to Nunez's in his chamber.

A bill less strict than Nunez's stalled in a legislative committee Thursday.

Sponsored by Republican Rep. Bill Rehm of Albuquerque, it would have allowed illegal immigrants to have one-year driver's permits that would not stand as government-issued identification.

The House Labor and Human Resources Committee tabled Rehm's bill on a 5-4 party-line vote. All the Demo crats voted to stop the bill, meaning it will probably die in the committee.

During the committee hearing, Democratic Rep. Miguel Garcia of Albuquerque said revoking driver's licenses for illegal immigrants "would take us back to the Stone Age."

He also said such a system would increase auto insurance costs for everybody. Immigrants with licenses can buy insurance, and that makes the roads safer for everybody, Garcia and other Democrats said.

If New Mexico's system remains unchanged, Martinez said, a state driver's license will be insufficient identification to board an airplane.

She said passports could be soon required under the federal Real ID Act because New Mexico's driver's licenses are compromised.

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