One of the first priorities for Governor-elect Susana Martinez is to revoke the thousands of drivers’ licenses which have been issued by New Mexico to illegal aliens in recent years.

After Arizona passed SB1070, illegal aliens have been flocking to New Mexico which does not currently require proof of citizenship to obtain a license.

Outgoing open-borders advocate, Gov. Bill Richardson, made it worse by passing a law banning DMV clerks from asking an applicant if they are in the country legally. As a result, New Mexico had become a favorite with human smugglers and those who make their living from selling fraudulent documents.

A recent study of the New Mexico DMV found a surge in licenses issued to immigrants (both legal and illegal). In fact, there was a 60 percent increase over the previous year during a 10-week period following the passage of Arizona’s new immigration law while the number of licenses issued to citizens during that same period did not increase.

The study found that New Mexico had issued 10,257 licenses to immigrants through the first six months of 2010, as opposed to 13,481 for all of 2009. The pace increased from 323 licenses issued per week to 417 per week immediately after Arizona passed its immigration law.

Gov. Martinez stated, “My focus has been on removing the driver’s licenses and revoking those that have already been issued. I don’t support amnesty… there has to be some other way of dealing with the issue. It may be we identify individuals but we cannot just have a path to citizenship created when there are people in line already doing the proper things.â€