11/02/2007

News / Editorial: Governor's license plan still flawed

Linked from: http://www.uticaod.com/viewpoints/x481174709

Although changes Gov. Eliot Spitzer is proposing in his New York state driver’s license program would place restrictions on licenses given to illegal immigrants, the plan is still seriously flawed because it provides a legal document to person who is breaking the law.

That’s makes no sense, and the idea should be scrapped.

Spitzer’s latest pitch is for a three-tiered approach to the state driver’s license system.

* One level would provide licenses for illegal immigrants and others.

* A second level would allow access to federal buildings and airplanes. It would not be available to illegal immigrants.

* A third, most-secure level would be an “enhanced” driver’s license that could be used to cross the Canadian border.

One of the arguments against Spitzer’s original plan was that it posed a threat to homeland security. Spitzer has attempted to counter that with the revised plan. He says new technology used at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Albany successfully scanned documents in a process Spitzer says will authenticate foreign-issued passports to make sure immigrants — legal and illegal — are who they say they are.

But he misses the point. Giving licenses at any level to people who already are breaking the law is wrong. In essence, it condones their illegal behavior.

“What he’s trying to use is smoke and mirrors,” state Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, said Monday night during a Herkimer County Republican Committee dinner.

Spitzer says he can enact the policy in December without the Legislature’s approval.
But Tedisco said that if Spitzer doesn’t change his plans, the Assembly Republican Conference will sue on behalf of the people of New York state to block it. Tedisco said the plan, as presented, not only threatens security but also breaks a 1995 state vehicle and traffic law by providing licenses to immigrants who don’t have social security numbers.

Many county clerks, including Oneida County’s Sandra DePerno, whose responsibility it is to issue driver’s licenses, said she won’t issue licenses to illegal immigrants.
Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, has suggested a meeting with DMV Commissioner David Swarts to discuss putting the program on hold until a better plan can be worked out.

That’s a good idea. We’d prefer a reasonable discussion – perhaps including representatives from states facing similar immigration issues – to a lawsuit that only will end up costing taxpayers. Unfortunately, if Spitzer insists on pushing his flawed plan, that may be the only way to go.


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