NY - Battle rages over licenses for undocumented immigrants

NEW YORK: Some county clerks fear reprisal if they don't go along with controversial changes.

By JOE MAHONEY CNHI News Service 4 hrs ago

ALBANY — The president of the New York State Association of Police Chiefs declared his strong opposition Monday to legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses and prohibit motor vehicle clerks from sharing application information with cops without a subpoena.

Malverne Police Chief John Aresta pushed back against assertions by some advocates that allowing immigrants in the country illegally to qualify for licenses would make the roads safer because they would be more likely to insure and register the cars and trucks they drive.

"Whether they have a legal license or not, they are still going to be worried about being scooped up by ICE," Aresta, referring to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, told CNHI in an interview.

The clamor to end New York's policy of limiting the issuance of licenses to people in the country legally is heating up at the statehouse, as the result of Democrats now being in control of both chambers of the Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo identifying the issue as one of his top priorities this year.

In 2007, then Gov. Eliot Spitzer moved forward with a similar program, but reversed course after hitting a wall of grassroots opposition from New Yorkers and county clerks. One of the latter was Kathy Hochul of Erie County. But since becoming Cuomo's lieutenant governor, she now supports the proposal.

Niagara County Clerk Joseph Jastrzemski contended making undocumented immigrants eligible for licenses would be "silly" policy.

"I'm totally against it," said Jastrzemski, whose office runs a motor vehicle bureau that processes state licenses and registrations and who serves as chairman of an association of county clerks for western New York.

Advocates, led by a labor-backed coalition called Green Light NY, suggest that tens of thousands of undocumented workers are already driving in New York without licenses, forced to do so in order to get to jobs, attend church services and go grocery shopping for their families.

The current barriers to licenses, Green Light NY argues, has created mistrust between police and immigrant communities and heightened the risk that a traffic violation will lead to detention and even deportation.

A total of a dozen states, along with Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, now allow individuals who lack proof of being in the country legally to get driver's licenses.

Officials in two of the upstate region's most politically progressive communities, Ithaca and Woodstock, have signaled support for the legislation that would make undocumented immigrants eligible for licenses.

"Licensing drivers improves public safety by ensuring that everyone driving our roads is properly licensed, informed of our traffic laws and more likely operating a registered, inspected and insured vehicle," the Woodstock town board said in a resolution approved last month.

But the proposal has sparked concerns from some county clerks that they could be subjected to state discipline even if they believe they can best uphold their oath of office by refusing to go along with such a program if it is enacted by lawmakers and Cuomo.

Legislation filed by Sen. James Tedisco, R-Saratoga County, would block the governor from replacing a clerk who refused to issue licenses in "good faith."

The bill that would make undocumented immigrants eligible for licenses forbids a motor vehicles commission from relaying to any law enforcement agency information collected from applicants for driver's licenses or learner's permits unless investigators could show a warrant for the documents.

The bill would also require the licensing bureau to notify applicants when law enforcement seeks data collected at the motor vehicles departments.

Jaztrzemski said he supports the Tedisco proposal.

Both the Niagara clerk and Aresta contended that advocates for opening licenses to people who are in violation of immigration law are effectively making it easier for them to apply than it is for citizens who must produce Social Security cards, birth certificates and utility bills to establish identification and residency in New York.

https://www.lockportjournal.com/news...2c54d0616.html

They need to be prosecuted and FIRED for awarding illegal aliens government issued drivers licenses and registering them to vote.

That is aiding and abetting illegal aliens and against the Federal Visa & Immigration Laws!

When is the A.G. going to AUDIT these cities and get these illegal aliens off our soil.

Go drive to work, get groceries and go to Church on your soil!!!

Other states join New Mexico in granting driver's licenses to illegal aliens, since 03

Section 1324 of title 8 of the US code makes it a federal felony to encourage illegals to live here and giving drivers licenses to illegals clearly violates that law. Why don't the critics make that point?

Illegal aliens can get driver's licenses in all 50 states,if they are in DACA.

5/29/15
"The law is effective immediately, meaning that Dreamers granted DACA finally have the right to apply for driver's licenses in all 50 states."

https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-free...-their-license

Nebraska Legislature Overrides Governor's Veto and Gives Dreamers Their License to Drive

By Jonathan Blazer, ACLU
MAY 29, 2015 | 12:30 PM

Maria Marquez Hernandez just graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a degree in psychology, but she still can't give her younger sister a ride. That's because she's a Dreamer — brought to the U.S. by her parents and raised undocumented as a child.

Shortly after the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was announced in 2012, Maria applied for DACA and received a Social Security number and work authorization card, which ordinarily would have allowed her to apply for a Nebraska driver's license. But the former and current governor decreed that Dreamers could not qualify for driver's licenses, even if they presented that documentation. This has made daily life difficult for Maria, but not being able to do what other big sisters do bothered her most.

Buckle up. This week that changed when the Nebraska Senate voted in dramatic fashion to let Dreamers drive.

Maria loves Nebraska, which she has called home since the age of five. But as she has noted, standing up for herself and others in the face of injustice is part of being an American. So when Maria was denied a license because of Gov. Pete Ricketts' adherence to an unfair and unlawful edict, she joined with several of her fellow Dreamers to challenge it in court. But rather than simply waiting on a court to decide, Dreamers and their allies, including the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, convinced the legislature to consider a bill to reverse the discriminatory policy.

At first, it seemed like a long shot. Republican members of Congress are trying to scrap DACA altogether. Republican governors and attorneys general in 26 states — including Nebraska — are suing to stop the DACA program from expanding. How were Dreamers going to convince a majority of Republicans to override their Republican governor?

Ask them. Last week, the legislature passed a bill ensuring that Dreamers with DACA — and anyone else with deferred action — are eligible for driver's licenses. When the governor vetoed the bill, the senators stood strong, and voted 34-10 to override the veto. This vote is a victory for Dreamers, and for all Nebraskans.

But it is also of national significance for two other reasons.

First, it successfully concludes nearly three years of a nationwide, state-by-state legal and political struggle by ACLU and partner organizations to support Dreamers' fight to win recognition of their right to driver's licenses. As soon as President Obama announced his DACA initiative in August 2012, most states embraced the opportunity to integrate young immigrants and to ensure that they are trained, tested, licensed, and insured as drivers.

Some states, however, vowed to deny driver's licenses to them. Others stonewalled.

There was more than driving at stake. For states and Dreamers alike, a driver's license symbolizes belonging, membership, and acceptance. In most cases, recalcitrant state officials relented in the face of strong legal advocacy, organizing, and the broad public consensus favoring fair treatment of Dreamers.

Three states held out: Michigan, Arizona, and Nebraska.

Dreamers had little choice but to sue, with the support of ACLU and other partners. Michigan began issuing licenses soon after being sued. Arizona began issuing licenses earlier this year, afterthe U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that the state's policy violated the U.S. Constitution.

This left Nebraska standing alone, the last state clinging to discrimination.

Wisely, rather than await yet another unfavorable court ruling, the legislature took the affirmative step of passing a law to end two governors' losing battle.

The law is effective immediately, meaning that Dreamers granted DACA finally have the right to apply for driver's licenses in all 50 states.

Second, the Nebraska vote brings an underreported trend to the surface: the unwillingness of state legislatures in both red and blue states to penalize Dreamers and others granted deferred action.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the architect of numerous failed anti-immigrant state laws, boasted earlier this year that he was in consultation with lawmakers from a dozen other states about state legislation to target Dreamers and others who benefit from federal executive actions on immigration.

Yet from Kansas to Georgia to Texas, Republicans state legislators are refusing as a matter of state policy to penalize Dreamers. Why? It's one thing to file a bill attacking Dreamers, and it's quite another to have to face them, hearing after hearing, and to listen to their stories, which always disrupt simplistic stereotypes regarding "illegal immigration."

The media rebroadcasts those stories of young people overcoming extraordinary obstacles to contribute actively to their communities, and public opinion turns even further against legislators seeking to punish Dreamers. The Nebraska vote is another strong indication of support, on the ground, for Dreamers and the presidents' deferred action initiatives.

Republicans may disagree with the way in which the president has gone about his reforms, but they appear to agree with the policies themselves.

Either way, Maria Marquez Hernandez, other Dreamers, and their allies will keep fighting — and winning.

https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-free...-their-license

@ https://www.alipac.us/f12/stop-illegal-aliens-getting-drivers-licenses-california-plan-would-reverse-law-360413/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Illegal aliens can get driver's licenses in all 50 states,if they are in DACA.

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How can that be since DACA itself is NOT a law???

Status of Current DACA Litigation Last updated FEBRUARY 7, 2019

STATES OFFERING DRIVER’S LICENSES TO IMMIGRANTS


Gilberto Mendoza
11/30/2016

States issue driver’s licenses under the constitutional authority of the Tenth Amendment.

Congress enacted REAL ID in 2005 creating standards for state-issued driver’s licenses, including evidence of lawful status. Effective Jan. 22, 2018, driver's licenses issued by states that are not compliant with REAL ID or haven't been granted an extension can't be used to fly in the United States.

This brief summarizes state legislation authorizing driver’s licenses or authorization cards for unauthorized immigrants (not to be used for federal identification purposes) and examples of limits or exceptions for legal immigrants’ licenses.

"Twelve states and the District of Columbia enacted laws to allow unauthorized immigrants to obtain a driver’s licenses. These states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont and Washington—issue a license if an applicant provides certain documentation, such as a foreign birth certificate, a foreign passport, or a consular card and evidence of current residency in the state. Oregon enacted S833 that provided driver’s licenses for unauthorized immigrants in 2013, but the following year voters approved ballot Measure 88 that suspended the law by 67 to 33 percent."


http://www.ncsl.org/research/immigration/states-offering-driver-s-licenses-to-immigrants.aspx


https://www.alipac.us/f12/colorado%9...7/#post1646489

Constitution of United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992)

10th. Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

https://www.google.com/search?q=10th...hrome&ie=UTF-8

The solution is to deport the illegals who are already here and keep more from entering the country.