Illegals to get driver's licenses in New York

[Soldier4Christ]

Illegals to get driver's licenses in New York 
DMV 'does not believe it's in the business checking a person's legal status'

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is preparing to announce a new policy that will enable illegal aliens to obtain a driver's license.

The state's Department of Motor Vehicles no longer will require applicants to provide Social Security numbers or proof they're eligible for Social Security cards, the New York Post and New York Sun reported.

Under the new rules, valid foreign passports, previous state driver's licenses and other verifiable proofs of ID will be considered on a point-based system, according to a source who spoke to the Post.

"The DMV does not believe it's in the business of checking a person's legal status; it's not the INS," the source said.

The Sun said county clerks around the state came to Albany yesterday to discuss the new policy with DMV officials, according to a source.

(Story continues below)

Spitzer said last year during the gubernatorial campaign he would allow illegal aliens to obtain driver's licenses, because banning them would make life worse for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers without adding to security.

Restricting access to licenses drives illegals "into the shadows, creating a class of people with no public records," said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson in October.

After the 9/11 attacks, then-Gov. George Pataki issued an executive order requiring driver's-license applicants to show a Social Security number to prove their residency status, the Post noted.

Opponents of lifting restrictions point out the 9/11 hijackers had at least 35 licenses, enabling them to open bank accounts and rent cars.

Congress reacted in 2005 with the Real ID Act, which requires states to adopt national standards for driver's licenses by the end of 2009.

Spitzer's plan, according to the Post, requires no legislative approval. It will be phased in in three stages, beginning in December.

The Post said the change would cost the state $1.5 million in the initial stage, according to the source. The cost is expected to be offset by fees.

New York is one of more than 30 states to verify the Social Security numbers of driver's license applicants, according to the Sun.

As WND reported in 2005, North Carolina's weak requirements to obtain a driver's license has drawn busloads of illegal immigrants from the region.

[Soldier4Christ]

I clearly remember having to provide both birth certificate and social security number to get my first drivers license. The certified birth certificate was required, if for no other reason, for proof of age that goes on the drivers license. This is simply pandering to illegal aliens and for a state that suffered greatly on 9/11 one would think that they would be smarter than this.

[Shammu]

I clearly remember having to provide both birth certificate and social security number to get my first drivers license. The certified birth certificate was required, if for no other reason, for proof of age that goes on the drivers license. This is simply pandering to illegal aliens and for a state that suffered greatly on 9/11 one would think that they would be smarter than this.

I remember that to brother. Without neither one, forget getting a drivers license.

[Shammu]

Immigrant in crash had been in the U.S. 4 years
By Jeremy Kohler
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/21/2007

ST. LOUIS — News that an illegal immigrant was at the wheel of the vehicle that crashed into three restaurant patrons Tuesday had many St. Louisans asking: What was he doing here?

The answer is that Sergio Lopez has been here illegally for about four years, working and sending money home to support his wife and two daughters, ages 3 and 5, said a cousin who lives in St. Louis and said he is a legal resident.

It was simple math for Lopez, 23, who would have been making about $15 per week as a farm laborer in his home city of Maravatio, about three hours northwest of Mexico City, said his cousin, Edgar Lopez, 27.

In St. Louis, Sergio Lopez made as much as $500 per week washing dishes and doing other jobs at restaurants that included Liluma in the Central West End and Cafe Napoli in Clayton. He typically sent $200-$300 per week home to his wife, Beatriz, said his cousin.

Sergio Lopez planned to either return to Mexico within two years or save enough to have his family join him here illegally, his cousin said. He'd already looked into the cost of having a professional smuggle his daughters here: roughly $2,000 per child.

Sergio Lopez has crossed the U.S. border into Arizona on foot at least twice, making a 24-hour trek through the desert each time, Edgar Lopez said.

On Tuesday, Sergio Lopez told Clayton police he was temporarily blinded by a bright light as he attempted to make a left turn from westbound Maryland Avenue onto southbound Central Avenue. Officials said he did not explain whether it was a sun reflection or something else. His Ford Expedition crashed into the sunken eating area of Il Vicino, pinning two people beneath it and injuring a third.

Clayton Police Chief Thomas Byrne said Sergio Lopez had been trying to find a job in Clayton and did not appear to have been under the influence of alcohol or speeding. Clayton officers cited him for driving without a license and without proof of insurance and for making an improper turn.

Sergio Lopez is being held at the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton on a federal detainment order issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Through the jail, he declined to be interviewed. Though he is booked as simply Sergio Lopez, his full name is Sergio Lopez Luna. People in Spanish-speaking countries typically use names that incorporate their mother's maiden name.

Sergio Lopez bought his SUV about 1 1/2 years ago from Guillermo Lopez, another cousin living in the St. Louis area, said Edgar Lopez. It was a part of his "American dream," his cousin said. He still owed the cousin about $3,000.

"He planned to drive that truck back to Mexico," said Edgar Lopez, interviewed at his job as a cook at Dominic's Restaurant in the Hill neighborhood.

St. Louis is a U.S. outpost for Lopez's extended family on his mother's side. Some are here legally and some not. Other family members live in Georgia and Texas, but St. Louis is a meeting place at holidays. Edgar Lopez said more family members live in the United States than in their hometown.

Lopez's father and brother each arrived just this year and are working at St. Louis-area restaurants. They could not be reached Thursday.

Reached in Mexico, Sergio Lopez's mother, Guadalupe Luna, was unaware that her son had been incarcerated.

Typically, he calls the family in Maravatio once a week. But his mother and other family members hadn't heard from him since the previous week.

"I don't know anything about this," she said in a telephone interview.

Luna was relieved that no one in the accident suffered life-threatening injuries. And she expressed concern about how the family would live without Sergio Lopez's income.

"That is going to make the (family's) situation more difficult," she said.

Edgar Lopez said his cousin lived in constant fear that he would be discovered and deported to Mexico. Recently, while driving on an interstate, his cousin was overcome by fear at the sound of police sirens and came to a stop in the middle of traffic, he said.

"He said, 'They're coming for me,'" recalled Edgar Lopez.

Immigrant in crash had been in the U.S. 4 years

[Soldier4Christ]

N.Y. governor abandons licenses for illegals 
But argues feds 'lost control' of borders, left states with consequences

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday he was abandoning a plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, but said that the federal government had "lost control" of its borders and left states to deal with the consequences.

"I have concluded that New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own," Spitzer said at a news conference after meeting wtih members of the state's Congressional delegation.

Spitzer said overwhelming public opposition led to his decision.

The governor introduced the plan with the goal of increased security, safer roads and an opportunity to bring immigrants "out of the shadows." Opponents charged Spitzer would make it easier for would-be terrorists to get identification, and make the country less safe. Many New Yorkers agreed with them.

About 70 percent of New Yorkers oppose the license plan, according to a Siena College poll of 625 registered voters released Tuesday. The poll, conducted Nov. 5-8, had a sampling error margin of 3.9 percentage points.

Last month, Spitzer sought to salvage the license effort by striking a deal with the Department of Homeland Security to create three distinct types of state driver's licenses: one "enhanced" that will be as secure as a passport; a second-tier license good for boarding airplanes; and a third marked not valid for federal purposes that would be available to illegal immigrants and others.

Debate over the issue has spilled into New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign.

Clinton has been criticized by her Democratic and Republican rivals for her noncommittal answers on the subject. She has said she sympathizes with governors like Spitzer who are forced to confront the issue of immigration because the federal government has not enacted immigration reform. She has not taken a position on the actual plan offered by Spitzer.