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Old 08-25-2011, 01:42 PM
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Jeanfromfillmore Jeanfromfillmore is offline
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Default License Access in New Mexico Is Heated Issue

License Access in New Mexico Is Heated Issue
SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico is one of just two states, the other being Washington, that allow in-state residents who are illegal immigrants to get the same driver’s licenses given to citizens, as long as they pass a written test and successfully show they can turn and stop and park. But critics, led by the newly elected governor, Susana Martinez, say that the lenient licensing law attracts illegal immigrants from far and wide who fraudulently claim they live in New Mexico in order to get identification cards that allow them to settle into American life.
“We don’t have any idea what kind of individuals we are giving these licenses to,” Ms. Martinez said in an interview, suggesting that other states may also be adversely affected by New Mexico’s approach.
No issue is more heated in New Mexico these days than that of driver’s licenses. There are street protests and angry debates over the airwaves. Lawyers will soon be clashing over the question in court.
Meanwhile, to prove her point, Ms. Martinez has been drawing attention to each new case of fraud.
In May, charges were filed against a man who advertised his services securing licenses for illegal immigrants in Spanish-language newspapers in New York. The Border Patrol arrested him in Albuquerque in the company of illegal immigrants from Ecuador and Colombia, whom he was helping to become licensed drivers in New Mexico.
In March, another license scam aimed at immigrants from South Asia resulted in four arrests. That was the sixth fraudulent-license arrest in seven months, state officials said, with others involving illegal immigrants from China, Poland, Costa Rica and Brazil.
By issuing licenses to foreigners, a policy adopted in 2003, state officials had sought to reduce the problem of unlicensed and uninsured drivers on the road and increase cooperation between immigrants and law enforcement personnel. The extent to which the policy has worked is in dispute as data show that New Mexico continues to have one of the largest percentages of uninsured motorists in the country.
Ms. Martinez, a Republican who campaigned on the licensing issue, tried but failed in her initial months in office to push an end to the licensing of illegal immigrants through the Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats. She says she will try again in September at a special session she has called.
In the meantime, her administration has sent letters to 10,000 citizens of foreign countries across New Mexico in an effort to gauge the extent of the fraud problem.
Those who received the letters were told that they must appear at a motor vehicles office in Albuquerque within 30 days to prove to an auditor that they actually reside in the state or face cancellation of their licenses.
About a third of the 10,000 letters were returned to the state, which the governor’s office says shows a serious fraud problem. Of the 2,000 or so face-to-face meetings that have been held, about half the people have been able to prove they are in-state residents, state officials say.
The governor’s office has insisted that the audit was not intended to facilitate deporting illegal immigrants, but fear still remains high.
“I’m afraid to go,” said Luz, a mother of three from Mexico who received one of the letters but has not yet responded. “Will they deport me once I get there? Or will I get stopped on the way?”
Even with licenses, illegal immigrants say they must tread carefully in the state. They are aware of the location of the various federal immigration checkpoints set up on New Mexican roads and steer well away from them.
After hearing that many who received the letters were afraid to travel to Albuquerque, the governor’s office agreed to schedule meetings as well in Las Cruces, in the southern part of the state.
Still, the letters have been criticized by immigrant rights groups. “This program doesn’t prove anything,” said Marcela Diaz, an activist with Somos Un Pueblo Unido. “People move around and change their addresses. We knew that already. This is just blatantly inconveniencing those who followed the rules.”
On Wednesday, four Democratic legislators and Marisela Morales, a legal permanent resident who received one of the letters, intend to file suit in state court accusing the governor’s office of acting without legislative authority in issuing the letters and also of discriminating against people on the basis of their legal status.
The suit will ask a judge to order Demesia Padilla, who as the governor’s secretary of taxation and revenue oversees the motor vehicles division, to end the verification program immediately. The legal team behind the suit includes Vincent Ward, who was chief legal counsel to former Gov. Bill Richardson, who approved the current licensing policy. David H. Urias, a civil rights lawyer, and Martha Gomez of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, are also involved.
New Mexico has traditionally had a welcoming approach toward illegal immigrants, especially compared with Arizona, its neighbor to the west. But calls for a tougher approach have been growing, which is reflected by Ms. Martinez’s victory in November as well as the heated nature of the driver’s license debate.
Gerald Ortiz y Pino, a Democratic state senator and a plaintiff in the suit, said there might be a need for tighter controls in licensing, although he dismissed as exaggerated the talk of terrorists and drug bosses getting licenses. Mr. Ortiz y Pino said revoking licenses for illegal immigrants would end up prompting more people to live in the shadows.
“One of the tactics the governor has used is to encourage people to send us angry, vituperative letters questioning our patriotism and fealty to the U.S.,” he said. “That leaves every one very raw.”
Ms. Martinez said that the vast majority of residents were in her corner on ending the policy and that legislators needed to get that message. “It’s important to me because it’s important to New Mexico,” she said.
The issue has far less urgency in Washington State, where officials have tightened residency requirements to cut down on fraud while still allowing illegal immigrants to receive licenses. Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, said she would sign a bill restricting licenses to legal residents if the Legislature were to pass one.
Utah issues special licenses to people who cannot prove their citizenship. These licenses are good only for driving but not for other uses, like boarding airplanes. That dual-license approach has not won support in New Mexico.
As the standoff continues, some of those who can legally drive now but may be in danger of losing their licenses are contemplating how their lives might change.
“How will I take my children to school?” asked Luz, who did not want her full name used given the continuing debate. “How can I go to Wal-Mart to get medicine? If you take away our licenses, you take away our lives.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us...1&pagewanted=2

Court asked to stop immigrant license checks in NM
SANTA FE, N.M. — Four state legislators and a Silver City woman asked a judge Wednesday to stop Gov. Susana Martinez's administration from trying to verify whether immigrants who received a driver's license in New Mexico still live in the state.

An Albuquerque law firm and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a lawsuit in state District Court in Santa Fe on behalf of the Democratic lawmakers and the Hispanic woman.

The suit seeks to block a state agency from checking a random sample of 10,000 license holders who are foreign nationals to determine their residency.

New Mexico is one of only three states — the others are Washington and Utah — where an illegal immigrant can get a driver's license because no proof of citizenship is required. However, Utah's permits cannot be used as government ID cards.

Martinez wants the Legislature to end New Mexico's policy of granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. She and other critics contend it jeopardizes public safety and attracts illegal immigrants who fraudulently claim to live in the state only to get ID cards that make it easier to stay in the country.

The Republican governor in July announced the residency verification plan — the administration's latest effort to focus attention on the state's politically charged license policy.

Under the plan, New Mexico sent notices to people that they must schedule an in-person appointment and bring documents, such as a utility bill or lease agreement, to prove they live in the state. The administration plans to cancel licenses of people who no longer are New Mexico residents.

The lawsuit contends the governor's license certification program is illegal because it singles out foreign nationals for unfair treatment, violating equal protection provisions of the state and federal constitutions. The lawsuit said the administration also lacks the power to order the checks because the program wasn't authorized by the Legislature and it effectively requires some people to reapply for a driver's license.

"The program is unconstitutional because it unfairly targets certain Latinos in New Mexico and places a higher burden on them beyond what the law requires of other residents," said Martha Gomez, an attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said the suit attempts to stop an effort by the state to confront identity theft and fraud.

"This out-of-state group may believe that New Mexicans do not have a right to know who is residing within their borders, and as such, they may not have a problem trying to protect the illegal immigrants who have come to New Mexico from throughout the country to get our driver's license and leave," Darnell said in a statement. "But New Mexicans have a decidedly different point of view, and so does Gov. Martinez."

Martinez, who took office in January, vowed during her gubernatorial campaign to end the state's licensing policy enacted during former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson's administration.

The governor's license repeal proposal failed earlier this year in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Opponents said the move to end immigrant licenses was politically motivated and targeted Mexican immigrants. Martinez plans to ask the Legislature to revisit the issue during a special session that starts next month.

Under a 2003 law, more than 80,000 driver's licenses have gone to foreign nationals. The state says it doesn't know how many of those went to illegal immigrants because it doesn't ask the immigration status of license applicants.

Democratic Rep. Miguel Garcia of Albuquerque helped bring the lawsuit and was a main sponsor of the 2003 license legislation. He said the law provides an opportunity for "our immigrant population to come out of the shadows and become a participatory member of our society."

Garcia and other supporters say the licensing law has improved public safety by having immigrants get insurance for their vehicles, and has lessened immigrant fears about reporting crimes and cooperating with police.

Also bringing the lawsuit are Rep. Eliseo Alcon, D-Milan; Sens. Howie Morales, D-Silver City, and Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque; and Morales' sister-in-law Marisela Morales, a legal permanent U.S. resident who has lived in the country for 16 years.

Immigrant applicants for a New Mexico driver's license don't need a Social Security number as part of their identification. Instead, they can submit a taxpayer identification number issued by the federal government along with other identification, such as a Mexican Consulate-issued ID card known as a matricula consular.

Slightly more than 1,000 foreign national license holders have had their licenses recertified so far, according to the governor's office. About 2,500 appointments have been scheduled. Of the 10,000 letters sent out, about 31 percent have been returned as undeliverable for some reason, including that there is no forwarding address for an individual.

Read more: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-...#ixzz1W4xoOnVg
Groups sue New Mexico over license verification checks
The Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund and Albuquerque law firm Freedman Boyd filed suit Wednesday against the Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department in state District Court in Santa Fe arguing that the license verification program lacks statutory authority.
Gov. Susana Martinez directed TRD by executive order to send out letters to 10,000 of the estimated 85,000 foreign nationals with driver’s licenses asking them to come to Albuquerque to verify that they are still residents of New Mexico. About 2,000 have had appointments and about half have shown valid proofs of residency, according to state officials. MVD has since set up a second office for residency verification in Las Cruces.
The suit was filed on behalf of four state legislators and a woman from Silver City. They argue that the program violates the state and U.S. Constitutions on equal protection grounds since it targets a specific group of people. In addition, they argue that the program would need legislative approval, because it effectively asks some people to reapply for a driver’s license.
Martinez, who made the license issue a big part of her 2010 campaign and has unsuccessfully pushed the legislature to change the law, disagreed with the lawsuit.
“This out-of-state group may believe that New Mexicans do not have a right to know who is residing within their borders, and as such, they may not have a problem trying to protect the illegal immigrants who have come to New Mexico from throughout the country to get our driver’s license and leave,” Martinez Spokesman Scott Darnell said in a statement. “But New Mexicans have a decidedly different point of view, and so does Gov. Martinez.”
http://www.americanindependent.com/1...ication-checks
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Old 08-31-2011, 05:54 PM
PochoPatriot PochoPatriot is offline
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Why is that it appears that the only Republican governors with the balls to stand up to the illegal aliens and their string pullers, are women.
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Old 08-31-2011, 07:37 PM
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ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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These articles show that illegal aliens are the symptoms of the disease and not the made in America disease itself:

Quote:
Ms. Martinez, a Republican who campaigned on the licensing issue, tried but failed in her initial months in office to push an end to the licensing of illegal immigrants through the Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats.
Quote:
Groups sue New Mexico over license verification checks

The Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund and Albuquerque law firm Freedman Boyd filed suit Wednesday against the Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department in state District Court in Santa Fe arguing that the license verification program lacks statutory authority.

Gov. Susana Martinez directed TRD by executive order to send out letters to 10,000 of the estimated 85,000 foreign nationals with driver’s licenses asking them to come to Albuquerque to verify that they are still residents of New Mexico. About 2,000 have had appointments and about half have shown valid proofs of residency, according to state officials. MVD has since set up a second office for residency verification in Las Cruces.

The suit was filed on behalf of four state legislators and a woman from Silver City. They argue that the program violates the state and U.S. Constitutions on equal protection grounds since it targets a specific group of people. In addition, they argue that the program would need legislative approval, because it effectively asks some people to reapply for a driver’s license.

Martinez, who made the license issue a big part of her 2010 campaign and has unsuccessfully pushed the legislature to change the law, disagreed with the lawsuit.

“This out-of-state group may believe that New Mexicans do not have a right to know who is residing within their borders, and as such, they may not have a problem trying to protect the illegal immigrants who have come to New Mexico from throughout the country to get our driver’s license and leave,” Martinez Spokesman Scott Darnell said in a statement. “But New Mexicans have a decidedly different point of view, and so does Gov. Martinez.
And how many who post here and surf this site will confuse New Mexican Governor Susana Martinez as being either an illegal alien or anchor baby?

If you don't address American citizens of all races who aid and abet illegal migration and only focus on illegal aliens, you lose. Best learn Mexican Spanish and acquire some suck up skills to survive.

As well, if you don't recognize and support American Hispanics who are on the same side as you are concerning illegal migration, you lose. Best learn Mexican Spanish and acquire some suck up skills to survive.
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Last edited by ilbegone; 08-31-2011 at 07:47 PM.
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Old 08-31-2011, 08:02 PM
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Ayatollahgondola Ayatollahgondola is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PochoPatriot View Post
Why is that it appears that the only Republican governors with the balls to stand up to the illegal aliens and their string pullers, are women.
Women know how appeasement ends up. Smart women try to make it end up in there favor. Strong smart women try to make it end period
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