Thread: N.M. Gov.: Alter rules on foreigner licenses

Gov.: Alter rules on foreigner licenses

Martinez directs agency action on regulations

Updated: Wednesday, 22 Jun 2011, 3:26 PM MDT
Published : Wednesday, 22 Jun 2011, 3:26 PM MDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Gov. Susana Martinez is directing state agencies to tighten regulations for granting driver's licenses to foreign nationals and illegal immigrants.

The governor said Wednesday the Taxation and Revenue Department and its Motor Vehicle Division will recommend changes in the documents that foreign nationals must submit as identification and proof that they are New Mexico residents.

The governor also said the agencies will try to determine whether foreign nationals who previously received driver's licenses are residents of the state.

New Mexico has issued at least 103,000 licenses to foreign nationals since 2003. State officials don't ask the immigration status of people so it's uncertain how many of those have gone to illegal immigrants.

The Legislature rejected the governor's proposal to stop granting licenses to anyone without a Social Security number.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/politics/g ... r-licenses

I had a feeling Gov Martinez would do this eventually if the legislature failed to change the rules on illegal aliens being allowed liscences. While she's can't specifically say illegal aliens can't be granted liscences she can mandate tougher regulations on what is considered proof of ones identity which would allow them to basically deny illegal aliens driver's liscences because those illegals fail to provide adequete proof of identity.

Glad to see Gov Martinez had the balls for this. Way back I mailed and called the Gov's office about this exact step and was told they we aware of that option.

Alamogordo Daily News
By Milan Simonich, Texas-New Mexico Newspapers
Posted: 06/23/2011

SANTA FE - Gov. Susana Martinez on Wednesday ordered a tightening of screening procedures that allow illegal immigrants to obtain New Mexico driver's licenses.

Martinez, an outspoken opponent of the licensing system that she inherited, also revived a statistic suggesting widespread abuses in the program.

An immigrant or citizen can legally obtain a New Mexico driver's license only if he or she is a resident of the state. Martinez said about 35 percent of the foreign nationals seeking driver's licenses in New Mexico are calling from out-of-state phone numbers.

But it is unlikely that all those people actually live outside New Mexico.

Demesia Padilla, secretary of the state Department of Taxation and Revenue, testified during the legislative session that various applicants who obtained mobile phones elsewhere simply kept their out-of-state number after moving to New Mexico. Illegal immigrants must call for an in-person appointment to obtain a driver's license.

But Scott Darnell, Martinez's spokesman, said so many calls from out-of-state numbers point to a problem of fraud in the licensing system.

In this order, callers with phone numbers from Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Florida, New York, Colorado, Alabama, California, Illinois, New Jersey and North Carolina are most often seeking New Mexico driver's licenses, Darnell said.

"We have also found instances where an out-of-state number has been used dozens of time for appointments. It prompts serious questions," he said.

State Rep. Andy Nunez, an independent from Hatch, said people from across the country come to New Mexico in hopes of obtaining a driver's license that will "legitimize" them.

"It's not just people from Mexico. We have seen Poles and Chinese who live elsewhere in the United States travel to New Mexico to try to get a license," Nunez said in an interview.

A woman from Colorado Springs recently was arrested by state police in Raton on suspicion of fraudulently trying to obtain a New Mexico driver's license. An Albuquerque woman was arrested in springtime on charges of providing phony addresses to driver's license applicants. She also was accused of being part of a heroin ring.

Martinez, a Republican, called the licensing law "dangerous" and said it compromises border and national security. She directed her staff to place special emphasis on improving security in licensing, especially for foreign nationals. She said she expected recommendations by the end of July.

"In the absence of legislative action on this issue, my administration will explore ways in which the security of New Mexico's driver's licenses can be enhanced," Martinez said in a statement.

Only New Mexico and Washington state license illegal immigrants. Utah offers permits to illegal immigrants, but they are valid only for driving, not as government-issued identification to board airplanes or enter secure buildings such as federal courthouses.

Foreign nationals account for about 83,000 of New Mexico's 1.6 million licensed drivers. But even that statistic is deceptive.

Between 2003 and 2007, applicants for New Mexico driver's licenses were not required to present a Social Security number. The result was that various U.S. citizens obtained licenses with alternate identification and ended up in DMV's "foreign" database.

State Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, said he was one of those American citizens who received a New Mexico license by showing identification other than a Social Security card. He said he probably is listed in the foreign database.

http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_18334124

NO state in the union should be able to get a drivers license if they are here illegally. They are criminals with the only right is to arrest and deportation. We cannot allow these low ifes to come here and get a document that is a standard for ID of leagal citizens here. Any undocumented perso found should have their drivers license destroyed on the spot and not be reissued another one.