Thread: TX: Dems try to Undo policies on Illegals Drivers License

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6314264.html

Some Dems try to undo new driver’s license rules
Texas immigrants complain about policies’ bureaucratic maze to state House panel
By KELLEY SHANNON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 16, 2009, 6:05PM

Blogging politics, elections and the Capitol AUSTIN — Some Democratic lawmakers joined by Texas residents who have had trouble getting drivers’ licenses under new Department of Public Safety rules pushed Monday for legislation that would undo a policy they say harms U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.

Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, of San Antonio, said the DPS overstepped its authority by creating new identification rules last fall for drivers’ license applicants without getting approval from the Legislature.

“It’s far-reaching, it’s completely uncalled for and it’s completely unnecessary,â€

1. 98 year olds should not be driving.

2. US citizens who were not born in the US have naturalization papers.

3. It's a GOOD thing to require irrefutable proof of legal status.

4. Whoever is against this can go soak their heads.

I'm glad they are mad. All those visa overstays are no longer getting to drive. The new license might knock them off the motor voter registration too.

They are also not being issued look-alike drivers licenses.

I'm sure Texas lawmakers are just as sick of the ACLU and MALDEF as we are. Anything they say, goes in one ear and out the other.

Dixie

Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat is bending the truth. Bessie got her ID, not a DL. This is all about trying to keep the illegal aliens driving and possibly voting. Notice the story doesn't tell what the two were doing wrong and why it took 4 trips. No one has to take an original birth certificate to the DPS to get a license.

Mar. 12, 2009 Comments (3

Fort Worth woman, 98, proves photo ID not always easy to get
By ANNA M. TINSLEYatinsley@star-telegram.com
Related Content
S-T/JOYCE MARSHALL
Bessie Jenkins Foster shows some of the IDs, including an expired driver’s license, that she has presented at DPS offices. S-T/JOYCE MARSHALL

Voter-ID debate soon shifting to the state House

IDsTexas Department of Public SafetyDavis said


FORT WORTH — It may just be a $15 card.

But to Bessie Jenkins Foster, the state-issued identification card is a crucial piece of ID that she needs — and hasn’t been able to get.

The 98-year-old African-American woman, who is recovering from gallbladder surgery and is hard of hearing, went to three different local Texas Department of Public Safety offices last week. And three times she was turned away without getting her card.

"I feel bad," said Foster, who at times has difficulty speaking. "To cash a check, or something, I need an ID card."

Foster is one of countless people nationwide having trouble getting a state-issued photo identification card — the very kind that would be required to vote if a bill raging in the Texas Legislature becomes law.

Texas’ senators had been locked in a bitterly partisan battle in Austin before passing a voter ID bill, which the GOP says is needed to combat voter fraud and Democrats have fought for years, saying it’s an attempt to keep voters from the polls.

Proponents of the bill argue that concerns about voters not having ready access to acceptable identification is overblown. But Foster and her daughter disagree mightily.

Foster’s daughter, Robbie Hamilton, has been helping her mother try to get the IDcard.

"I don’t know what they are thinking," said Hamilton, 66. "At nearly 99 years old, some compassion should come from somewhere. With all the ID we’ve taken with us . . . somebody should have cared about my Mama and given her the ID.

"We are going to get one," she said. "God as my witness, we will get one."

Proper ID

Last week, Foster and Hamilton went to three DPS offices while they were running other errands. There, they presented Foster’s driver’s license that expired last July, along with her photo military identification, Social Security card and other documents.

They were told they needed Foster’s birth certificate, but when they brought a copy, they were told they had to bring the original.

They don’t have an original, though, and can’t get one because the birth certificate was lost when a 1968 fire destroyed the Walker County Courthouse in Huntsville. So they brought a copy provided by the Texas Department of Heath’s Bureau of Vital Statistics.

But still had no luck.

"We apologize for any difficulties she is experiencing," said Tela Mange, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin. "The next time she goes back, she needs to ask to speak to a supervisor who should be able to speed something along.

"Anyone who feels they have the appropriate documentation and is not getting the card should ask to speak to a supervisor."

ID concerns

Often, it is the elderly, women and minorities who have a difficult time getting photo identification — for one reason or another.

State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, said she is concerned about voter fraud and wants to make sure that it is caught and any offenders are "severely penalized."

"The problem is, we haven’t really been able to define voter impersonation as an issue," Davis said.

Testimony senators heard during their nightlong gathering as a committee of the whole that of the 190 cases since 2002 referred to the attorney general’s office for review, none involved voter impersonation at the ballot box, Davis said.

"We all uniformly should be concerned when someone’s right to vote is threatened," Davis said. "Unless there’s a crucial need to threaten that right, we should take all steps not to do that."



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Texas Driver’s License or State ID cards What you need: To get a new driver’s license or ID card, officials say you should bring a current or expired photo ID, such as a driver’s license, along with an original or certified copy of a birth certificate and supporting materials such as military records, school records, a marriage license or voter ID card.

What it costs: In Texas, renewal fees are $24 for a noncommercial driver’s license, $32 for a motorcycle license, and $15 for a state identification card.

For more information: www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/dr ... ements.htm

Source: Texas Department of Public Safety

ANNA M. TINSLEY, 817-390-7610

http://www.star-telegram.com/229/story/1253333.html

Folllow Up Story

Sat, Mar. 14, 2009

98-year-old woman finally gets her Texas-issued ID
By ANNA M. TINSLEYatinsley@star-telegram.com
Related Content
S-T/JOYCE MARSHALL
Bessie Foster Jenkins with her ID. The picture has been altered to protect her personal information. S-T/JOYCE MARSHALL

Bessie Jenkins Foster finally got a state-issued identification card.

Foster, 98, tried three times this month to get the card — and was turned away each time when officials said she didn’t have the proper paperwork.

But one day after an article about her difficulties appeared in the Star-Telegram, she got the card.

This time it’s a lifetime ID, said Robbie Hamilton, her daughter.

"She never has to go back again," she said.

Officials wanted an original version of her birth certificate. But the certificate was lost in a 1968 fire that destroyed the Walker County Courthouse in Huntsville.

Hamilton said she received a call Thursday from local Texas Department of Public Safety officials who wanted to help her mother get the ID.

"They were all just so professional and they represented Texas well," she said. "I encourage everybody to be encouraged by the Lord.

"This is God’s work."

ANNA M. TINSLEY, 817-390-7610

http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news ... 57740.html

Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat, said some elderly Texans do not have birth certificates. He specifically mentioned a 98-year-old woman in Fort Worth, whose original certificate burned in a courthouse fire years ago. Other U.S. citizens who were delivered by midwives don’t have birth certificates, he said.

Yea... and every illegal invader does not have birth certificate! You do not change the law to deal with rare exceptions unless your intent is to benefit a group of people who have no business being here!

Are we back on that midwives BS again!!!