Thread: Resistance Growing in Queens to Spitzer's Licensing Plan

Boro pans Spitzer's new ID plan
By: Jeremy Walsh
11/01/2007

Resistance in Queens is growing to Gov. Eliot Spitzer's revised plan to offer separate driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants who do not have Social Security numbers.

Immigrant groups that favored his first plan, which offered a single license to all New Yorkers, opposed the shift. The borough's two Republican state senators said they were against both plans.

The changes came after Spitzer reached an agreement with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff this weekend to bring the state's driver's licenses for citizens and legal residents into compliance with the federal REAL ID Act. The act is designed to restrict the movement of potential terrorists.

Spitzer said this would delay putting the plan into effect until late 2008.

In addition to the immigrant licenses, which would not grant holders access to airline flights, Spitzer has proposed an "enhanced" license that would allow American citizens who live in New York to cross the border to Canada without a passport.

Chertoff said he did not support licenses for undocumented immigrants, but praised the REAL ID-compliant licenses.

"These techniques will make New York licenses among the most secure in the country," he said.

Immigrant groups condemned Spitzer's decision. Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said separate licenses for those without Social Security numbers would amount to a "scarlet letter," exposing the ID holders to racial profiling, discrimination and possible deportation.

She also called the REAL ID Act "a junk security measure that is part of an anti-immigrant crusade in Congress and in the Bush administration."

Spitzer's office argued in a press release that the new license system will not segregate or create a "two-tiered system.

"In contrast, our system's 'dividing line' will be 'what the federal government requires,' which does not affect who can get a regular state license, only who can get a federally approved license," the governor's office said.

Spitzer did get support from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had previously opposed the governor's original DMV plan.

"I am encouraged by today's announcement by Gov. Spitzer and Secretary Chertoff," Bloomberg said in a prepared statement. "Although we have just begun to review the details, this a clear step in the right direction and some of the major issues we have raised are being addressed to our satisfaction."

Other foes remained foes.

State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), said he would continue to oppose any plan that included driver's licenses for illegal aliens.

"Chertoff made it crystal clear in his statements that the department does not support giving licenses to illegal aliens," Padavan said.

State Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) said he has seen many legislators who supported the first plan turn against Spitzer after Saturday's announcement.

"It was not consulted with the DMV people. It was not in consultation with legislative leaders of any party," he said. "He's just got to retreat on it. It's not going to happen."

The move cuts off the planned first-phase implementation of immigrant licenses, which would have allowed illegal aliens whose licenses had expired since the Social Security requirement went into effect to renew their licenses. That process would have started in December, with new applications opening in spring 2008.

REAL ID compliance probably will cost more than the previous plan, which required the purchase of $1.5 million in document-scanning equipment. Chertoff has said the REAL ID plan will cost the country $11 billion in the first five years. Most of that cost will be borne by the states, he said.

Head to Head

Pro: Road safety, dignity for illegals

Proponents of plans to issue driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants say the move would improve road safety by making them eligible for auto insurance. But Valeria Treves, deputy director of the New Immigrant Civic Empowerment project in Jackson Heights, said another important piece of the issue is increased dignity.

"Having access to an ID allows you to move within the state not only within your car, but also civically and politically and culturally," she said. "It allows you access to spaces you might not be able to access without an ID from a cultural institution to a civic meeting."

Giving undocumented immigrants licenses will also stimulate the state's economic development, Treves said, suggesting employers might be more willing to hire a worker who could legally get from Queens to a job site in Long Island.

"Other states will have to follow suit. Otherwise industries are going to migrate here, immigrants are going to migrate here because of that work possibility," she said. "If Pennsylvania's not going to give them their licenses, then maybe they're better off going to New York."

Immigrants will also prosper economically by opening bank accounts and getting access to mortgages more easily with their IDs, Treves said.

But the issue of being recognized by the government has its downside, too. Treves said some immigrant groups and advocates are wary of licensing plans because of possible information sharing between government agencies. Some Muslim communities are especially wary, she said, because of government registration tactics in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

But the Latino community sees licensing as a positive thing, Treves said.

"They talk about it very simply in terms of being able to do stuff at kids' schools and at hospitals," she said.

Con: Reward illegals, aid terrorists

Opponents of giving driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants point to national security issues and argue it devalues the efforts of legal immigrants.

State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), one of the more visible foes of illegal immigrant licensing, said the genesis of the issue goes back to the findings of the federal 9/11 Commission set up after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

"They point out that the hijackers used the licenses in a variety of ways: buying domestic flight tickets, renting cars, renting safe houses, opening up bank accounts for the transfer of funds, even enrolling in a flight school," he said.

The federal REAL ID Act, which would prevent undocumented immigrants from using driver's licenses to travel across the country, is meant to address those concerns, Padavan said.

Licensing undocumented immigrants could also discourage legal immigration, the senator said.

"We have a very open entry to this country," Padavan said. "Last year alone there were almost 1.3 million green cards issued in the United States and over 33.6 million visas issued in 2006. On top of that, almost 703,000 immigrants became citizens. ... Those individuals, the green card persons, can legally get driver's licenses, and they should be able to. Is that privilege undermined by those who are here illegally? I think the answer is yes."

Advocates of licensing plans say undocumented immigrants will drive on city and state roads regardless of whether they have a license. Padavan said the solution lies in enforcing current laws.

"Same as anybody else that drives without a license, they obviously have to be taken off the road," he said. "A driver's license is not a constitutional right. It's a privilege. The notion that someone commits a crime and then gets a license doesn't make sense. It certainly is not conducive to society that should be based on law."
http://www.timesledger.com/site/news.cf ... 2415&rfi=6

Pro: Road safety, dignity for illegals

Reminder: add to list of oxymorons.

To DO: investigate how letting illegal aliens have drivers licenses in American is safe.

"We have a very open entry to this country," Padavan said. "Last year alone there were almost 1.3 million green cards issued in the United States and over 33.6 million visas issued in 2006. On top of that, almost 703,000 immigrants became citizens. ... Those individuals, the green card persons, can legally get driver's licenses, and they should be able to. Is that privilege undermined by those who are here illegally? I think the answer is yes."

Somebody pick me up off the floor please... I hope this is an error.. 33.6 million visas issued in 2006, 1.3 million green cards.. My God they are completely way out of hand..



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Why does this moron splitz brain think that giving them licenses is going to change anything, other than furthering his own political career? Just because they have a license dosen't mean they are going to go out, get insurance and comply w/ the laws.

Like I said before if they give these licenses to illegals we will never get them out of the U.S. because a judge is going to come along and say we set a precedence when we gave them a license and basically okayed them being here and they will become legal!!

I would bet my life on it, it is just a game biding time and really a good stradegy if they get away with it. I hope Americans see it for what it is!!