NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC. "The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt

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May 28, 2005

Illegal Aliens and Driver Licenses

The push for reform

The 911 Commission released its final report on July 22, 2005. The report contained various recommendations to address the lack of border security and weak immigration controls. The commission noted that the al Qaeda hijackers violated immigration laws, obtained identity documents (licenses) by submitting fraudulent source documents and made false statements on visa applications and passports. Some of the commission’s recommendations include a biometric entry-exit screening system for border and transportation, no fly lists for aviation, standards for identification documents and an integrated intelligence infrastructure with a single director.

In December of 2004, the congress passed and the President signed the Intelligence Reform bill into law. While the law contained the intelligence reforms, it did not include the immigration reforms which were passed by the House. This was a direct result of the refusal of the Senate negotiators in the conference committee (which reconciles the two differing versions of the bill passed by the House and Senate) from including the immigration provisions.  While not all of the provisions were included, the legislation did call for minimum standards for driver licenses and personal identification cards. President Bush and members of the Senate conference committee agree to address the immigration reforms in 2005 as part of separate legislation.

While this legislation was a good start, the devil is always in the details. The legislation did not require that the applicant have a valid social security number to obtain a driver license, did not ensure that licenses issued to visa holders expire on the same date their visa expired and allowed states to issue driver licenses to illegal aliens. Further more, the legislation allowed negotiated rule making. This called for a rule making committee composed of representatives from state department of motor vehicles, state elected officials, the Department of Homeland Security and other interested parties. This committee would then recommend the proposed rules to the Secretary of Transportation who would promulgate the final rules. This type of “negotiated” rule making was problematic as certain issues involving national security should never be compromised.

In 1995, the New York State legislature passed a law requiring that all applicants for driver licenses provide their social security numbers. The basis for the law was to track down dead beat parents who owed child support and to have the ability to suspend their license for non payment of child support. Under federal law, New York State has been collecting social security numbers for Commercial Driver License applicants since 1991. In 2002, the department of motor vehicles began requiring social security numbers for non-driver identification cards.

This additional standard to verify the identity of an applicant was useless as the department did not have access to the Social Security Administration’s records. Finally in 2002, the department was able to interface with the Social Security Administration’s records to verify social security numbers. By the end of 2004, Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Raymond P. Martinez reported that all individuals on the state’s data base had their social security numbers verified. Those found with invalid social security numbers received letters seeking information to resolve the discrepancy. If there was no response, the license or non-driver identification card was suspended.   

On January 26, 2005, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman James F. Sensenbrenner (R) Wisconsin introduced the “Real ID Act”. The main provisions of the bill were as follows; establish a uniform rule for driver licenses in all fifty states, have licenses expire when an applicant’s visa expires, reform of the asylum law, mandate that grounds for inadmissibility in the U.S. such as links to terror related activities be grounds for deportation, and allow the final construction of a fence on the California border in San Diego.

Many organizations such as the Hispanic advocacy group La Raza, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly opposed the bill. New York State Senator Mike Balboni (R) who represented the National Conference of State Legislatures on the negotiated rule making committee voiced opposition to the bill. While he indicated that he supported the concept, he was concerned about the cost to the states in the form of an unfunded mandate and the way the standards are implemented. Common sense would indicate that the cost of prevention is worth the cost of another 911 attack.

Surprisingly Nassau County Congresswomen Carolyn McCarthy, Congressman Steve Israel and Congressman Gary Ackerman voted against the house bill. Even New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton were not supportive of the measure. Fortunately Congressman Pete King strongly supported the bill. In an effort to ensure its passage, the house attached their bill, HR 418 to a Department of Defense supplemental appropriations bill (which was to fund the Iraqi war effort). This made it more difficult for the Senate to vote against the amendment as they would have to vote down the defense bill.

In an effort to derail the inclusion of immigration reforms, Senator Larry Craig (R) Idaho attempted to attach a Senate bill called AgJobs to the Department of Defense supplemental appropriations bill. This bill provided amnesty for one million illegal aliens in the agricultural field and up to two million of their family members. If his effort was successful, the cost for enacting the immigration reforms would be an amnesty for illegal aliens. While Senators Schumer and Clinton were co-sponsors of the AgJobs bill, both voted against attaching the bill to the Department of Defense supplemental appropriations bill. The appropriations bill ultimately passed without both the AgJobs bill and the immigration provisions. A conference committee reconciled the two bills and the final legislation included the provisions of the “Real ID Act”. Earlier this month, President Bush signed the bill into law.

The Nassau County Civic Association, Inc, and its members successfully lobbied members of Congress for passage of the Real ID Act. Our support of this legislation was noted on a petition submitted to the United States Senate. We would like to thank NumbersUSA which spearheaded the effort to pass this essential legislation.

We would like to thank the following members of Congress; Congressman Tom Tancredo (R) Colorado, Chair of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, Congressman James F. Sensenbrenner (R) Wisconsin, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Duncan Hunter (R) California, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Tom Delay (R) Texas, House Majority Leader and Senator Robert Byrd (D) West Virginia.

PROVISIONS OF THE REAL ID ACT

·        Clarifies that applicants for asylum bear the burden of proof and limits judicial review of asylum cases.

·    Grounds for inadmissibility in the U.S. such as terrorism and links to terror related activities are grounds for deportation.

·    Allows for the completion of the fence on the California border in San Diego.

·    Sets minimum document standards for driver licenses and non-driver identification cards. The DHS was authorized to make grants to the states in order to ensure compliance with this effort.

·    Driver licenses and non-driver identification cards can only be issued to U.S. citizens and legal residents (which includes verification of valid social security numbers).

·    Requires temporary licenses to be valid only for the period of time that the alien is authorized to stay in the U.S.

·    Requires the DHS to complete a report on border infrastructure and technology integration. DHS must detail vulnerabilities, improve and expand the use of technology, improve information sharing with all agencies and authorizes appropriations to fund this effort.   

·    Several caps in various categories of legal immigration were increased. 

·    The legislation funds 500 new Border Patrol Agents, 50 new ICE agents (interior enforcement) and 1,950 new detention beds to hold illegal aliens.

·    Delivery Bonds in the amount of $10,000 will be issued for those illegal aliens who are released in their own recognizance pending an immigration hearing. Bondsmen are authorized to arrest, detain and deliver the alien to the secretary of Homeland Security should the alien violate the terms of the bond.

For more information and to find out what you can do about illegal immigration, please visit the following links;