Spitzer Gets Federal Backing for License Plan

Oct 27, 05:39 PM

Current Headlines: By Carol Eisenberg, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Oct. 27--WASHINGTON -- Top state and federal officials agreed in principle today to a three-tiered structure for drivers' licenses in New York --with New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer signing on to tougher verification standards for licenses for undocumented immigrants, among other changes made to allay security concerns.

The Republican administration's top security official, in turn, stood shoulder to shoulder with the Democratic governor to laud improved "drivers license security" overall in New York.

And at a time when Spitzer's plan to give illegal immigrants drivers' licenses has generated a political firestorm, that statement of support from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in a hastily-arranged news conference Saturday morning was tantamount to a bear hug, giving Spitzer badly needed political cover in a fight that has generated huge political and popular backlash.

It didn't matter that Chertoff, also the nation's top immigration enforcement official, said he couldn't and wouldn't "endorse giving license to people who are not here legally."

More important was what he didn't say -- namely, that the plan posed security concerns. "What we can do is insist that licenses that do not meet feeral requirements be clearly so labeled. New York has agreed to do that."

Spitzer in turn, gave Chertoff something he badly needed: For starters, tougher eligibility rules for the immigrant licenses, including requiring a valid and verifiable passport and also proof of residency. Spitzer also agreed to label those licenses as unusable to board a plan or enter a federal building.

Perhaps more significant for Chertoff, Spitzer embraced Real ID, the federal government's post-911 effort to make identification cards more secure. That has generated a huge headache for the homeland security chief as several states have rebelled against what they say will be a heavy cost burden. New York becomes the largest state to sign on, and as the site of the 911 terror attack, its support is expected to carry symbolic significance to other governors.

Whether the compromise will actually dampen the political furor in New York remains to be seen. While the agreement drew strong praise today from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as "a step in the right direction," to ensure that New Yorkers' licenses are accepted by the federal government, the Republican State Senate leader was not impressed.

"The flip by the Governor today does not change the fact that he is arrogantly insisting on giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens, licenses that could still be used as breeder documents to obtain other valid forms of identification," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. "The federal Department of Homeland Security has made it very clear that it does not support giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens.

The deal sets up what will actually be a three-tiered licensing system. New York will produce one ID that will be as secure as a passport and is intended for people who soon will need to meet such requirements, even for a short drive to Canada.

A second version of the license will meet new federal standards of the Real ID Act, a law designed to make it much harder for illegal immigrants or would-be terrorists to obtain licenses.

A third type of license will be available to undocumented immigrants. Spitzer has said this ID will make the state more secure by bringing those people "out of the shadows" and into American society, and by lowering auto insurance rates.

New York has between 500,000 and 1 million undocumented immigrants, many of whom are driving without a license and car insurance or with fake driver's licenses, Spitzer in September when he announced his executive order. It is unknown how many of them have valid passports and might apply for the new licenses.

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