Guest Column
Deal made to create super secure driver’s licenses and a version for illegal immigrants
- By Devlin Barrett
- Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Oct 29, 2007 - The Bush administration
and New York cut a deal Saturday to create a new generation of
super-secure driver's licenses for U.S. citizens, but also allow illegal
immigrants to get a version.
New York is the fourth state to reach an agreement on federally approved
secure licenses, after Arizona, Vermont and Washington. The issue is
pressing for border states, where new and tighter rules are soon to go
into effect for crossings.
The Arizona deal announced in August does not contemplate issuing
licenses to illegal immigrants, said Jeanine L'Ecuyer, a spokeswoman for
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.
The proposed Arizona version would not be available
to anyone illegally in the country, since one of the intended uses of
the 3-in-1 identity card would be to prove U.S. citizenship, L'Ecuyer
said. It could be used as a license, as proof of citizenship and as a
passport-like document valid for travel in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
It would be voluntary and available for a small extra fee.
"It is something that clearly would not be available for people who are
in the county illegally," L'Ecuyer said.
The New York deal comes about one month after Gov. Eliot Spitzer
announced a plan whereby illegal immigrants with a valid foreign
passport could obtain a license.
Saturday's agreement with the Homeland Security Department will create a
three-tier license system in New York. It is the largest state to sign
on so far to the government's post-Sept. 11 effort to make
identification cards more secure.
Spitzer, who has faced much criticism on the issue, said the deal means
New York "will usher in the most secure licensing system in the nation."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he was not happy that
New York intended to issue IDs to illegal immigrants. But he said there
was nothing he could do to stop it.
"I don't endorse giving licenses to people who are not here legally, but
federal law does allow states to make that choice," Chertoff said.
The governor made clear he is going forward with his plan allowing
licenses for illegal immigrants. But advocates on both sides of the
debate said Spitzer had caved to pressure by adopting the
administration's stance on tighter security standards for most driver's
licenses.
GOP Rep. Thomas Reynolds, who represents the Buffalo suburbs, said he
was glad Washington had heeded his concerns about border identification.
But he said he feared that Spitzer "is taking this state down a risky
path" by giving any kind of license to illegal immigrants.
Under the compromise, New York will produce an "enhanced driver's
license" that will be as secure as a passport. It is intended for people
who soon will need to meet such ID requirements, even for a short drive
to Canada.
A second version of the license will meet new federal standards of the
Real ID Act. That law is designed to make it much harder for illegal
immigrants or would-be terrorists to obtain licenses.
A third type of license will be available to undocumented immigrants.
Spitzer has said this ID will make the state more secure by bringing
those people "out of the shadows" and into American society, and will
lower auto insurance rates.
Those licenses will be clearly marked to show they are not valid federal
ID. Officials, however, would not say whether that meant local law
enforcement could use such a license as probable cause to detain someone
they suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.
"Besides being a massive defeat for the governor, I can't imagine many
-- if any -- illegal immigrants coming forward to get the driver's
licenses, because they'd basically be labeled as illegal," said New York
Rep. Peter King, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security
Committee.
New York has between 500,000 and 1 million undocumented immigrants, many
of whom are driving without a license and car insurance or with fake
driver's licenses, Spitzer said in September when he announced his
executive order.
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed by HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com) without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)