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Governor Spitzer's plan to allow illegal residents of U.S. to get New York State drivers licenses by producing a valid foreign passport is generating widespread opposition. More than 80% of New York's DMV offices are supervised by county clerks and The New York Times reports that many oppose Spitzer's license plan and will resist processing applications that don't include proof of legal residence. Clerks in NYC, Westchester, and Long Island are agents of New York State, and have little autonomy to resist Spitzer's wishes, but the county clerk in Rensselaer County near Albany told the Times he will simply refuse to comply, although he doesn't know the ramifications of butting heads with the governor.
Civil disobedience, or intransigence, by DMV clerks is just the latest roadblock that Spitzer is encountering while attempting to issue state documentation to people who are in the country illegally. State Senate Republicans accuse Spitzer of endangering the US by enabling potential terrorists to obtain licenses that would allow them to rent cars, open bank accounts, or board airplanes. The New York Sun points out that senate Republicans will probably not be able to pass legislation overturning Spitzer's directive, however, because Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver supports the governor's stance.
Proponents of the directive claim that licensing illegal immigrants is a commonsense step that will lower insurance premiums by drawing unlicensed drivers into the sunlight of legal responsibility. The move may go against federal desires to increase the security of state drivers licenses and possibly result in New Yorkers having to produce passports in order to board planes. The new rules are scheduled to be instituted by December.
However, the top man of NYC is iffy about the plan. Mayor Bloomberg said, "I'm really skeptical that we should be issuing driver's licenses willy-nilly because it then leads to lots of other problems." To which Spitzer responded, "He is wrong at every level - dead wrong, factually wrong, legally wrong, morally wrong, ethically wrong."
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Once again, Why would an illegal alien endeavor to buy insurance? It's preposterous to assume that people who aren't already following the rules would immediately start following them just because they have a DL
Eliot Spitzer -- Day One, Everything Changes
(Just not for the better)
Spitzer's lucky he had such an easy act to follow in George Pataki. Otherwise he'd look like a total boob instead of only a partial boob.
Actually, you are not required to show ID to get on a plane.
Wow, Spitzer, way to come off as a total jerk when a well respected and more popular politician with a better track record at running a well functioning government questions your plan with what seems to be an attempt to open discussion up about it...
I have never regretted voting for somebody more than I do for having voted for this goon.
I voted for Spitzer, too. UGH!
He's such an asshole!
Too bad we don't have a recall process for elected officials here in NY like California. This alone (forgetting about Troopergate or other nonsense) makes me want Spitzer out of office right now.
Yay! I'm for the other team!
Why does Spitzer have to beat everyone over the head when they disagree with him? He could have said Bloomberg is wrong and left it at that, but instead he just piled on invective. Did he stomp his feet and pump his fists while he did it?
ttown_jeff wrote: "Once again, Why would an illegal alien endeavor to buy insurance? It's preposterous to assume that people who aren't already following the rules would immediately start following them just because they have a DL"
First of all, just because you break one law doesn't mean you'll break all laws. By that logic, anybody who drove five miles over the speed limit one time should be put in prison for life because they'll become murderers overnight.
Secondly, requiring people to get insurance is in both their own interest and in everyone's interest. If people break immigration laws to come here they are, in addition to law-breakers, also self-interested. So we know that they want to help themselves economically (usually) so much they'll break the law to do it, why do you think they won't help themselves economically within the law as well? Couldn't somebody who bets on sports illegally in NY also choose to gamble legally if they've already flown out to Las Vegas?
Third, the thing about drivers licenses is that in order to get one you need to pass a test showing you know the rules of the road. The roads are safer if everybody on them passes that test. All things being equal, I'd rather be driving my daughter on a road where everybody knows how to drive than on a road where a bunch of people don't.
Finally, if you have a problem with undocumented immigrants getting licenses, you'll sound a little better if pretend that it's because of 9/11 or something, not because you find it unlikely that your insurance premiums will go down sufficiently to warrant the expense of issuing the licenses (last time I checked, you have to pay for the license itself).
#10 - American drivers suck. Our drivers education and licensing exams are a joke compared to the rest of the world. To think that an illegal immigrant is going to miraculously become a better driver is he/she has a license is naive and a false argument.
Why would any illegal resident get a driver license when it is basically giving the state a record that the feds could immediately subpoena for deportation purposes?
Petition to Stop Gov. Spitzer:
http://www.nygop.org/?page_id=361
[4] I'm not sure if you legally have to show ID to board an airline, but I would laugh at anyone who announced that it wasn't required when asked to show his or her ID while checking in. That's an impartial comment on just the way things are, for good or bad.
"endangering the US by enabling potential terrorists to obtain licenses"
Explain to me how the person that cuts your lawn, the lady that cleans your house, the dishwasher in a restaurant, are potential terrorists? Wouldn't having a database of people lead to better "protection and security" this country since the state would have information about them?
Governor or Pope!
We have criminals in this country boldly going where no criminals have gone before, right out in front of the Main Stream Media.
It is long over due that we report these acts of aiding and abetting. It could just be the trigger that the police need to act.
Many police departments, sheriffs departments, prosecuting attorneys and other law enforcement agency’s can now be contacted online.
Many in law enforcement feel the same as we do about this illegal invasion.
Federal Immigration and Nationality Act
Section 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv)(b)(iii)
"Any person who . . . encourages or induces an alien to . . . reside . . . knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such . . . residence is . . . in violation of law, shall be punished as provided . . . for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs . . . fined under title 18 . . . imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both."
Section 274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, INA 274A(a)(1)(A):
A person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or local government) commits a federal felony when she or he:
* assists an alien s/he should reasonably know is illegally in the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him or her to obtain employment, or
* encourages that alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him or her to an employer or by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way, or
* knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.
Stop the racist rhetoric. Codus to the Governor for approaching the issue that Congress got scared of. It seems that the only way the racists are going to lose on this one is to vote out every last Republican out of office next year. And they have already signed their own demise: they are fighting a losing battle: it is called demographics!!! So long, KKK. America is becoming a diverse country and racism has no place here in the XXI century!
Governor Eliot Spitzer is right!
Those bandit and scoundrel republicans are dividing our society with scare tactics. They are trying to make our country a hatemonger country. We welcome immigrants and their contribution to our society. The Americans who claim not to have jobs and complaining are the lazy scum of our society; we are hard working proud Americans who are not afraid to help the poor and make our society a welcoming society. Governor Eliot Spitzer is a real American whom our forefathers should be proud of. I pray to God he prevails, in which case he already did. For those of you, hateful dirt(s), go join the KKK, live in a trailer somewhere in the South in remote swaps, marry your closest, and do yourself a favor; don’t pollute our welcoming state and our country with your hate speeches. After all is it not a republican who was preying on young boy interns, and the other who took his family value straight to the rest room looking for perverts at least that was told. We are God fearing good and clean Americans, not thieves and perverts. Spitzer is right, let the poor dream as well.
Thank you, may God bless Spitzer and our country; may God give your hateful heart the scent of worship and care. And when I say worship is not worshipping the hateful rep., the overweight and ugly Congressman James Sensenbrenner, whose cholesterol level still out scores his ego and hatred. Why don’t he focus on his health and eating habits rather than scaring Americans with his inflated fear tactics, back room politics and poisons bills; he might as well go and work for groups like the K.K.K. We are a welcoming nation; we feed the poor; we pray to God; we love and respect our family, neighbors and God’s creatures. Why don’t we listen to star citizens such as the priests who devoted their lives for the good of men and God; who are telling us to be kind, why do we follow a no good liar republican politician? It simply beats logic away. Go Spitzer and alike, enough of these lies.
A driver's license is all that is currently required to register to vote in New York. Item 9 on the Voter Registration Form asks for either the last four digits of your SSN OR you DMV (driver's license) number.
It really makes you wonder if Spitzer's crusade to grant licenses to illegal immigrants doesn't have more to do with increasing the Democratic base by any means necessary? (legal or otherwise)
A driver's license is all that is currently required to register to vote in New York. Item 9 on the Voter Registration Form asks for either the last four digits of your SSN OR you DMV (driver's license) number.
It really makes you wonder if Spitzer's crusade to grant licenses to illegal immigrants doesn't have more to do with increasing the Democratic base by any means necessary? (legal or otherwise)