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Vol. 71/No. 40      October 29, 2007

 
N.Y. plan to allow driver’s licenses
for undocumented fuels immigration debate
 
BY RÓGER CALERO  
NEW YORK—A September 21 order by New York governor Eliot Spitzer allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license has met both wide support from immigrant workers and their supporters, and sharp criticism by opponents of immigrant rights.

Under the new policy, due to go into effect in 2008, anyone living in New York state who can provide a valid foreign passport and meet additional identification requirements can apply for a driver’s license.

The state AFL-CIO and many immigrant rights organizations have expressed support for the new policy.

Current policy requires applicants to provide a Social Security number, which only legal U.S. residents can obtain.

Under the plan, the Department of Motor Vehicles will send letters to 152,000 New York residents who previously had a state license but were unable to renew it because of the current rules, which were instituted after Sept. 11, 2001. Some 3,000 driver’s licenses that cannot be renewed expire every month, according to the New York Times.

“They no longer need to hide and pretend they are not here,” Spitzer told the press in announcing the new rule.

Opponents of the plan, however, have argued that New York would become a “haven” for immigrants without papers. “It just opens the gates for fraud and making New York a sanctuary for illegals,” said state representative Thomas Reynolds.

Some state politicians and other opponents have argued that potential “terrorists” like those involved in the attack on the World Trade Center could get through the cracks.

Spitzer has received support from some officials who advocate measures increasing the government’s ability to track the estimated 500,000 to 1 million undocumented immigrants living in New York.

“Consistency of identity is critical to law enforcement and counterterrorism, and it’s the consistency of identity that the New York system is designed to increase,” said Susan Ginsburg, an adviser to the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition to a Social Security card, in 2004 the Department of Motor Vehicles began requiring a valid year-long visa or other evidence of legal immigration status. Because of this rule, many license holders are unable to obtain or renew their license, since it often takes months for them to receive their legal documents after they are approved by federal immigration authorities.

The first time New York state began requiring Social Security numbers to get a license was in 1995, targeting parents who were not paying child support.

Gabriel García contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
Workers protest Virginia anti-immigrant laws
Judge bars ‘no-match’ letters against immigrants
Stop raids, anti-immigrant laws!  
 
 
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