Republicans See Flaw in Spitzer License Plan

Illegal immigrants in New York who don't drive but nevertheless want official state identification will be eligible to receive nondriver IDs under Governor Spitzer's new policy.

The contentious debate over Mr. Spitzer's immigration policy has focused on his recent decision to grant driver's licenses to state residents without regard to their legal status.

Republican lawmakers hostile to the governor's policy are now trying to draw attention to the fact that undocumented New Yorkers, many of whom don't own a car or drive to work, can apply for nondriver photo identification cards, which serve the same identification purposes as driver's licenses. Lawmakers argue that granting nondriver IDs to illegal immigrants undercuts one of the main arguments Mr. Spitzer has articulated in defense of the policy. The governor has insisted that his new regulations would improve road safety and reduce insurance costs, pointing to statistics that show unlicensed drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal traffic accidents.

"He hid behind this notion that the reason why he was doing this was to keep the streets safe and to bring insurance costs down … when the reality is it had absolutely nothing to do with it," a spokesman for Senate Republicans, John McArdle, said.

Under Mr. Spitzer's policy, undocumented immigrants could apply for driver's licenses by submitting foreign passports and birth certificates, which would be scanned into a system to determine if the records were fraudulent.

It's not clear how many undocumented immigrants would seek nondriver state identification and voluntarily enter a state database. The identification could be used to cash checks, buy alcoholic beverages, board airplanes, and enter government buildings.

Opponents of the policy, which is scheduled to take effect next year, say it would make it easier for illegal immigrants to blend into society and reward individuals who have violated immigration laws. They are also skeptical that technology and information exists to confirm that a foreign applicant is not misrepresenting his or her identity.

Senate Republicans have threatened to withhold funding for the DMV and are planning to pass legislation to overturn Mr. Spitzer's policy, which the governor handed down last month to the DMV. Lawmakers and other critics of the plan are planning to file court challenges. Most Assembly Democrats, including Speaker Sheldon Silver, say they stand by the policy.

A recent poll found that 72% of New Yorkers are opposed to granting licenses to illegal immigrants.

Beyond the issue of traffic safety, Mr. Spitzer has argued that granting licenses to illegal immigrants would "bring an entire population of people into a database that, when necessary, can be used to help law enforcement agencies track down criminals."