Posted on 06/08/2011 12:34:00 AM PDT by GonzoII
SANTA FE, N.M.Gov. Susana Martinez is renewing her battle to make New Mexico the 49th state to prohibit illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses, setting the stage for a heated fight during a special legislative session later this year.
Democrats in both New Mexico and Washington the last two states to permit illegal immigrants to get official driver's licenses shot down bills aimed at tightening their rules earlier this year. Supporters of the current law say state licensing laws reduce the potential number of uninsured and untrained drivers.
Ms. Martinez, a Republican, said in an interview she would try again, contending that illegal immigrants are flocking to her state to obtain a driver's license. "New Mexico is becoming a magnet for those who want to receive a valid United States ID and travel freely around the country," she said.
The state issued nearly 25,000 licenses to foreign nationals last year, up from about 12,000 in 2006.
There are no statistics showing how many were issued to people who were living in the U.S. illegally. But in the past year, state and federal authorities have arrested foreign nationals from such countries as China, Poland, India and Mexico on suspicion of ferrying illegal immigrants to New Mexico from other states to obtain driver's licences.
Authorities say immigrants living in such states as Florida, New Jersey, Alabama, North Carolina and Illinois pay as as much as $6,000 for documents that fraudulently declare them to be residents of New Mexico, such as an apartment rental agreement, that makes them eligible to apply for a driver's license.
Alvan Romero, the top fraud investigator in New Mexico, said ... during a recent six-month period, 35% of foreign nationals making appointments for driving tests in New Mexico provided phone numbers with out-of-state area codes.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
NM list PING!
Press on Gov. Martinez ! My prayers are with you.
What is it with this Alinsky-style labeling of female Republican governors by the lamestream media.
I guess "Gov. Martinez" is just too much for their little pea-brains to type.
She is a true patriot.
Woot!
Indeed, she is!
Lord help NM if one of these terrorists from the ME rolls into NM and gets a license and does God knows what. She’s trying to protect her state from having a lot to answer for.
Best of luck to this courageous lady.
I live in Maryland, and we give driver’s licenses to anyone who asks for one basically.
Th law is a funny thing. I cannot get tags for my car unless I show proof of Insurance, yet a driver with a license can drive anyone’s car without proof of insurance.
Why not make the law that everyone has to show proof of insurance in order to get a permit to drive. Insure the person , not the vehicle.
The there is the issue of how much insurance to buy,
Here in Maryland the laaw states a minimum of 10-20-5.
That means $10,000 dollar limit on Bodily Injury to a single person the 20 means the amount of Bodily Injury Insurance for the entire accident. The third number is for Property damage.
That means you have $5,000 dollars worth of insurance to pay to fix the other guy’s car. How many cars today do you think can be fixed for $5,000 dollars? You willbe fine if you hit a 1992 Buick, but if you nail someone in a new Caddilac you are screwed. So is he.
The minimum for Illegals should be 250, 500, 50 before any license is issued.
I went back and checked again Maryland has raised their minimum to 20-40-15.
Still you wont pay many extended hospital bills with $20,000, and you won’t fix a new Escalade you hit with $15,000.
You should look at your insurance and protect yourself. Illegals arent worried , they dont buy insurance anyway, or if their accident goes over the minimum sue them, See what you get.
Ping!
Question: I learned recently that the NM state constitution requires that all government be bi-lingual. Does that impact on some of these bills, and what would happen if we passed a law calling for English as the offical language of the US?
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