NY Senators mum on Spitzer's ID plan for immigrants
10/29/2007, 4:38 p.m. ET
By DEVLIN BARRETT
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York's plan to create three types of driver's licenses, including one for illegal immigrants, has everyone talking — everyone except the state's Democratic senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a fellow Democrat, announced over the weekend that he had struck a deal with federal homeland security officials to create a three-tiered state system of licenses.

In doing so, New York agreed to adopt Bush administration goals on tighter identification security, but Spitzer stuck to his much-criticized plan to allow illegal immigrants to get licenses.

The license debate, hard-wired to issues like immigration, terrorism, and civil liberties, may simply be too radioactive for either a presidential candidate like Clinton or a powerful senator like Schumer.

For years, Clinton and Schumer seemingly couldn't stop talking about the government's looming border ID rules.

Now it's different.

"She's running for president, and this is a land-mine no matter what you do," said Doug Muzzio, a professor of politics at Baruch College in New York. "The best strategy for her is to do what she's doing: keep quiet, because whatever you said, you will tick off constituencies, whether it's in the primary or the general election."

For Schumer, the danger is less obvious, but still very real to the third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate.

Also, Spitzer's popularity among New York voters is sinking fast, lashed to the political dead weight of his license plan.

"Spitzer himself has become toxic," said Muzzio. "It's not only the message, it's the messenger."

Under Spitzer's plan, one card which will be as secure as a passport and would be valid to get the user across the Canadian border, another will be good enough for domestic air travel, and a third won't be acceptable for air travel but will be available to illegal immigrants and others.

"The plan we put forth makes perfect sense," Spitzer said in a teleconference from Portugal while attending and environmental conference of government leaders. "This is the structure that squares security, maximizes participation, and permits law enforcement to know who in the state is driving, and that is the series of objectives we laid out."

Sen. Clinton has spent years urging the Bush administration to scale back plans to require passports to cross the U.S. border into Canada, saying that would be too costly and cumbersome for communities like Buffalo. She has also rejected the suggestion that better driver's licenses could be used instead, noting they wouldn't be available to children.

On Monday, her spokesman Philippe Reines said she continues to review Spitzer's plan.

"Sen. Clinton strongly believes that a federal solution is needed to our immigration crisis," said Reines. "She is still studying the governor's most recent proposal, but understands the impetus behind his plan — that federal inaction on comprehensive immigration reform has created conditions where states feel compelled to act on their own."

The usually loquacious Schumer was even more cautious. His spokesman did not immediately comment Monday on the license plan.

Spitzer has yet to say how much the various licenses will cost the average driver.

Currently, a license renewal costs $50 in New York state. Aides to the governor said it is too early to say how much more an air travel-valid ID, usually called a "Real ID" license, would cost. They expect a border-crossing driver's license, called an "enhanced driver's license" to cost about $20 above the regular license price.

That would be a significant discount from the previous cost estimate put on border passcards, which Washington had estimated would cost $35 for children and $45 for adults.

A new passport now costs about $100.

In striking the deal with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, both sides stuck to some dearly held positions, and capitulated on others.

Spitzer got to keep his plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, although he agreed to have such licenses clearly marked as not valid federal ID. Homeland Security officials backed off past resistance to allowing driver's licenses to cross the border when the new rule goes into effect next year.
http://www.syracuse.com/newsflash/state ... list=state