Caution: Driver license rule-makers at work

WASHINGTON - Mohamed Atta, who piloted the first plane to hit the World Trade Center, was able to get a Florida driver's license by showing authorities his Egyptian driver's license.

In Virginia, Hanji Hanjour and Khalid Almihdbar, two other hijackers, got driver's licenses after paying $100 to a stranger who swore they were Virginia residents.

And according to the testimony of a Memphis FBI agent, at least one of the New York men recently arrested on charges of bribing a Tennessee driver's license examiner picked Tennessee because it no longer required aliens to show any proof they were in the country legally.

These and other instances of driver's license fraud are going to fuel a push in Congress, over stout objections by groups from the left and the right, to force states to adopt minimum standards for driver's licenses.

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) plans as early as this week to introduce legislation that would give states three years to adopt a common format for licenses, including a biometric identifier like a holographic thumbprint or retinal scan.

The bill also would require states to use the same documents to verify the applicant is here legally and give driver's license examiners quick access to Social Security and Immigration and Naturalization Service databases to authenticate those documents.

"If we don't have uniformity among states, we will remain vulnerable to those who exploit the system by forum shopping for a driver's license card in the weakest state," said Durbin.

Twenty states do not require aliens to provide proof they are here legally, but supporters of the reforms say Tennessee, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia are the most vulnerable.

"What sets them apart from the other states is they either have extremely loose definitions for what is a resident, or in the case of Tennessee and North Carolina, do not require a Social Security number at the time of application," said James Staudenraus, eastern regional field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

"What we have here is a broken driver's license system," said Jason King, a spokesman for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

But while no state agency objected to the AAMVA proposal in January, one of its members, the Tennessee Department of Safety, is holding off endorsing a common standard until it sees the details.

"We have got to wait and see what the entire proposal is," said Safety Department spokesman Beth Womack.

The department also is opposed to changing the Tennessee law allowing illegal aliens to obtain state driver's licenses, despite the scandal in its Memphis examiner's office. But Gov. Don Sundquist may overrule the department.

"We are currently reviewing our driver license law in Tennessee. Our main focus is to find a balance between homeland security issues and ensuring Tennessee drivers know the rules of the road," Sundquist said in a statement released by his press office.

Sundquist is here today for the annual meeting of the National Governors' Association. Homeland security is the main topic.

Virginia no longer allows applicants to claim residency merely by a Virginian's affidavit.

Florida will now issue aliens a 30-day temporary driver's license while it verifies the authenticity of the applicant's documents. And if a Tennessean moves to Florida, he or she had better bring more documents than a Tennessee driver's license.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles recently told its examiners to require additional identification from any applicant carrying a license from Tennessee or one of the 19 other states that do not verify whether applicants are in the country legally.

Tennessee is moving to include a bar code on new licenses and replacement licenses starting in August, said Womack. Forty-one other states already use either a bar code or magnetic stripe or both to try to foil identity theft, which according to the Federal Trade Commission is the No. 1 concern of consumers.

Under the Durbin bill, states also would have to include a holographic fingerprint, retinal scan or other biometric. He is not expected to settle on which one until there are hearings on his bill.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is pursuing a separate bill that would require foreigners here legally to carry a "smart visa" also encrypted with personal information.

If state motor vehicle administrations were linked electronically to the databases of such agencies as the FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service, it would be "virtually impossible" for an alien to get a fake ID, said Robert Atkinson, director of the Technology and New Economy Project for the Progressive Policy Institute, a moderate Democratic group backing the push for new state driver's licenses.

But critics from the left and right say such proposals amount to a national identity card under state disguise.

Thirty groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way to the Eagle Forum and the Home School Legal Defense Association asked President Bush to oppose the AAMVA plan. He has not yet taken a position.

"It's much more than simply a driver's license. They're proposing establishing a standardized ID that would become the standard for all types of data collection. If there is one ID, private industry would want to use that standard for their own purposes," said Katie Corrigan, the ACLU's legislative counsel.

"What it would do is exacerbate the problem of fraud by networking all the databases," said Brad Jansen, deputy director of the Center for Technology Policy at the conservative Free Congress Foundation.

Durbin notes his bill would bar states from creating their own electronic databases with the information and would make it a federal offense for state employees to misuse the information. The legislation also would require states to audit their programs every two years.

Virginia gave drivers license to 5 of the terrorist and they still have not cleaned up their act . They do not require a social security number to get a license, they will accept almost anything for identification. Hey, you could probably even use one of those discount grocery cards for id in Viginia. They have DMV set up in the mall and they are even open on Saturday nights giving away drivers licenses to illegal aliens and terrorists. I was at the mall Saturday night and the line wrapped all the way out into the mall. Just another day in the state of Virginia aiding illegal aliens and terrorist. Let's not forget about motor voter, we wouldn't want to deny illegal aliens and terrorists their right to vote for the favorite demoRAT.

But what about me? I wasn't planning on staying much longer here in Europe!

You should know that immigration from Europe is more difficult than immigration from China and Mexico, but get your paperwork done fast pardner (assuming you are immigrating legally) Plans for amnesty are only for illegals from mexico. They do not do papers, they do not wait their turn. So hold all immigration and seal the border. (Electronic fence). Then establish a policy that makes sense.

Illegal immigrants are violating federal law and should not be jailed in Memphis or ANYWHERE else. They should be hauled by bus or train to the border as soon as they are caught.

Wrong. Shoot them as spies in this time of war. Saves the US taxpayer the cost of transportation back to the border as well as the cost of finding them again the next time. If we start shooting the problem the problem will either die out or go away as the illegal community learns to get out and not sneak back.

God Save America (Please)

Good find sarcasm!

Shermy thanks for the ping!

The rest of you, this ping is for you!

The US only wants subservient laborer class immigrants who will work for less than minimum wage, no benefits, no insurance. That way they can be dependent on government services thus growing the government and they can increase the profits of our globalist corporations. It's the old double whammy.

If you really want to get into the US, go to Mexico and just walk over the border. Pretend that you do not know English and you can come here to Tennessee and get a driver's license and free health care!

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

This was written almost 2,000 years ago. You see, it's not an original idea at all. It's just that in the last few years, it is technically possible. All that's needed now is a good impetus like terrorism to get the general population to accept it.

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