Posted on 10/23/2007 4:11:40 AM PDT by jmyrlefuller
With state and local government officials at his side in support, Allegany County Clerk Robert Christman held a press conference Saturday on the lawn of the Allegany County courthouse denouncing Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal that would allow illegal immigrants to apply for driver's licenses.
The proposed policy has drawn fire from 13 county clerks in New York, who like Mr. Christman, have said they will refuse to issue driver's licenses to non-citizens.
Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean, Assemblymen Joe Giglio, R-Gowanda, and Dan Burling, R-Warsaw, Allegany County Legislator Daniel Russo, R-Wellsville, Allegany County Sheriff William Tompkins and Undersheriff William Goetschius stood with Mr. Christman as he addressed the media and public.
Mr. Christman said Gov. Spitzer's policy, if passed, would force him and his employees to break federal law by giving illegal immigrants driver's licenses. His employees would also be burdened with new duties, as the governor's proposal requires that the illegal immigrants provide five forms of identification in order to be eligible for a driver's license.
County clerks and Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) employees are not trained to check the validity of documents produced in other countries, Mr. Christman said.
"(Gov. Spitzer) is asking my employees to be (Immigration and Naturalization Services) agents, which they are not trained or qualified to be," he said.
Mr. Christman asked why the policy involves changing the operations of the county clerk's office when the policy could be carried out by state DMV locations alone.
One hundred percent of the constituents he has received correspondence from support the decision to not comply with the governor's proposal, he said.
Mr. Christman said he has sent letters to 141 potential illegal immigrants living in Allegany County informing them of his position on Gov. Spitzer's plan.
"Once (the state) has initiated this process, I don't know if they (illegal immigrants) are coming from other states or anywhere else (to apply for a license)," he said.
Sen. Young said, "Rob Christman is showing a great deal of courage and conviction in challenging the governor's policy."
The terrorists who attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, used false driver's licenses to open bank accounts and to board planes. Allowing illegal immigrants the right to a legal driver's license could open New York state to similar security failures, she said.
"The law is very clear as it states that a social security number is required for anyone to receive a license," she said.
Other concerns Sen. Young expressed over Gov. Spitzer's policy included the possibility of voter fraud, where non-citizens could use the driver's licenses as identification when voting in public elections, and the devaluation of the driver's license as a valid form of identification for New York residents traveling out of state and abroad.
Peter Ellis, a representative of U.S. Congressman Randy Kuhl, R-Hammondsport, read a statement from Mr. Kuhl regarding the disrespect Gov. Spitzer's policy shows to the generations of legal immigrants who came to the United States through New York.
"While legal immigrants worked hard to earn citizenship and receive the right to apply for a driver's license, Gov. Spitzer's policy would allow illegal immigrants an unprecedented shortcut," Mr. Kuhl wrote.
A section of the public cheered when Sheriff Tompkins said that Gov. Spitzer's policy should encourage Mr. Christman to contact the sheriff's office as soon as an illegal immigrant applies for a driver's license, so that they can be processed and deported swiftly.
"I am not going to be a part of reducing the security of our local government down to the level of the federal government," the sheriff said.
In a speech delivered Friday at the New York University Center for Law and Security, Gov. Spitzer said that registering all immigrants will improve security and aid law enforcement in tracking crime.
"By bringing people out of the shadows and into the system and by implementing new anti-fraud security measures that improve our ability to prove a person is who they say they are, we will vastly enhance the safety and security of all New Yorkers," Gov. Spitzer said.
Sen. Young said that on Monday, Oct. 22, the state senate will entertain a resolution that will reaffirm state laws regarding citizenship standards in receiving a driver's license if passed.
Another bill is being processed in the state assembly that would help legally protect county clerks who refuse to comply with the governor's policy, if it passes, Mr. Giglio said.
Outstanding. Kudos to those standing up to this BS. The solidarity among the citizenry and local government appears to be growing, even in the face of the strongarm tactics of the governor (not to mention the junior Senator)
If the lawsuits fail the next step would be for the Senate to just withhold funding. Once the scheme is killed they could then get back to fully investigating Spitzer’s alleged misdeeds. More and more it’s beginning to look like that’s why he’s really pushing this loser of an issue, to deflect attention.
“potential illegal immigrants”
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Future illegal aliens?
What is their legal status now?
He probably already has...
...as I understand it there’s a little collective of illegal aliens hanging out just to the east in Steuben County. ICE has been all over it.
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