Illegals and NY DL

[natty bumppo 297]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday he is giving up his proposal to grant driver's licenses to undocumented workers, a plan he said would "improve the safety and security of the people of my state."

Spitzer said he was giving up because he had concluded that "New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own."

He said he wanted to act because of the failure of the federal government to deal with immigration policy and the impact that failure was having on New York.

"I would suggest to you what everyone already knows, " Spitzer said. "The federal government has lost control of its borders. It has allowed millions of undocumented workers to enter our country and now has no solution to deal with them."

The effect was about 1 million undocumented workers in New York state, "many of whom are driving without licenses," said Spitzer, surrounded at a news conference by members of his state's congressional delegation.

Spitzer said licensing workers who did not have Social Security numbers, which New York had done in the past, would have aided law enforcement and would have made the state's streets safer and more secure.

However, Spitzer acknowledged that "you don't need a stethoscope to hear the heartbeat of the public," saying he had concluded that opposition to his plan would have doomed it to failure.

"You have polarization on this issue that has defied resolution," he said. Watch what a hornet's nest the proposal stirred up

Spitzer put forward his proposal in September, saying it would bring New York's estimated 1 million illegal immigrants "out of the shadows."

In October, the governor said there would be three tiers of licenses, ranging from a license restricting travel, a document called Real ID for legal residents and a stricter one that would allow people to travel into Canada.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, on Wednesday thanked Spitzer for making the effort to bring about change, noting that undocumented workers "are part of the economy, they are part of what America's supposed to be."

"There is no question that we lack the leadership on the national level to change the tone," Rangel said. "And that is the reason why leaders all over the country -- mayors and governors -- are trying so desperately hard to deal locally with a problem that is basically a national problem."

One influential member of New York's congressional delegation missing from the briefing was Sen. Hillary Clinton, considered the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

As the plan became a topic of national discussion, critics accused her of failing to take a definitive stance on the issue. In a debate last week, Clinton said Spitzer's plan "makes a lot of sense" but stopped short of endorsing it.

However, she said that Spitzer is trying to find a solution to a bigger immigration problem.

Seventy-six percent of Americans oppose giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, according to a poll conducted in October for CNN by the Opinion Research Corp.

Members of the New York State Sheriffs' Association voted in October to oppose Spitzer's proposal.

"I believe this is just a fundamental issue of right and wrong," said Rep. Tom Latham, an Iowa Republican against Spitzer's plan. "And to give people official recognition when they come in and break the law in their first act in this country is simply wrong."

Link

[no name 1]

A-freaking-MEN!

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

yeah like giving them a driver's license is gonna solve the problem. someone needs to that clown.

[*julez* 124]

finally Elliott came to his senses....or maybe he's starting to notice how much his popularity is tanking

[YuAndDan 153]

finally Elliott came to his senses....or maybe he's starting to notice how much his popularity is tanking

Yep it was a big stomping point over the past few weeks up to election day last week.

[derekkj 0]

Good

[no name 1]

However, Spitzer acknowledged that "you don't need a stethoscope to hear the heartbeat of the public," saying he had concluded that opposition to his plan would have doomed it to failure.

Duh.

[Fandango 1,439]

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, on Wednesday thanked Spitzer for making the effort to bring about change, noting that undocumented workers "are part of the economy, they are part of what America's supposed to be."

No, they're not, Rangel....go pander elsewhere!

Here's a thought

IF YOU DON'T WANNA LIVE 'IN THE SHADOWS' GTFO AND GO HOME!

Edited November 14, 2007 by LisaD

[no name 1]

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, on Wednesday thanked Spitzer for making the effort to bring about change, noting that undocumented workers "are part of the economy, they are part of what America's supposed to be."

No, they're not, Rangel....go pander elsewhere!

Here's a thought

IF YOU DON'T WANNA LIVE 'IN THE SHADOWS' GTFO AND GO HOME!

Lisa, that's an emotional reply & #6 says that is wrong wrong wrong.

[NavarreMan 10]

He (Spitzer) did get a good shot in at the Federal Government though which is where the majority of the proplem stems from.

Edited November 14, 2007 by NavarreMan

[Fandango 1,439]

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, on Wednesday thanked Spitzer for making the effort to bring about change, noting that undocumented workers "are part of the economy, they are part of what America's supposed to be."

No, they're not, Rangel....go pander elsewhere!

Here's a thought

IF YOU DON'T WANNA LIVE 'IN THE SHADOWS' GTFO AND GO HOME!

Lisa, that's an emotional reply & #6 says that is wrong wrong wrong.

I happen to agree with him on the flip side (like people calling anti-illegals 'racist') so I'll rephrase it to sound less emotional.

It is not our job to help illegals 'come out of the shadows'. Breaking the law does have consequences and if one wants to live a free life, then one should go home.

[natty bumppo 297]

Missed the chance to clean up NY ...

Example:

... You have legal documents ... go to the left for processing and your license

... You don't have legal documents ... go to the right for processing ... oh and did I say deportation too

[no name 1]

Clinton says no to licenses for illegals

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer 49 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday came out against granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, after weeks of pressure in the presidential race to take a position on a now-failed ID plan from her home state governor.

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Clinton has faced criticism from candidates in both parties for her noncommittal answers on New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's attempt to allow illegal immigrants in his state to receive driver's licenses. Spitzer abandoned the effort Wednesday.

"I support Governor Spitzer's decision today to withdraw his proposal," Clinton said in a statement. "As president, I will not support driver's licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system."

Clinton stumbled when asked about the issue during a Democratic debate two weeks ago, and her new position comes the day before another debate where opponents are expected to raise the issue again.

Rival campaigns made clear they were not letting go of the issue.

"When it takes two weeks and six different positions to answer one question on immigration, it's easier to understand why the Clinton campaign would rather plant their questions than answer them," said Barack Obama spokesman Bill Burton, referring to the Clinton campaign's admission that aides had staged a question for her at an Iowa event.

Colleen Flanagan, a spokesman for Chris Dodd, called Clinton's position "flip-flopping cubed. She was for it before she was against it, before she was for it, before she was against it."

Spitzer met with New York lawmakers in Washington on Wednesday, and conceded that there was too much public opposition to his plan. Clinton did not attend the meeting.

"It does not take a stethoscope to hear the pulse of New Yorkers on this topic," he said.

The Democratic governor introduced the plan two months ago with the goal of increased security, safer roads and an opportunity to bring immigrants "out of the shadows." Opponents charged the scheme would make it easier for would-be terrorists to get identification, and make the country less safe.

The decision is another example of the roadblocks high-profile immigration reforms have faced this year. Less than five months ago, Congress failed to pass legislation that would legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants and fortify the border with Mexico.

"The federal government has lost control of its borders... and now has no solution to deal with it," Spitzer said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called Spitzer's reversal on the license issue "a good development" and said immigration is a federal issue for which his department has to "ramp up enforcement."

"What I want to make sure is that states aren't working at cross purposes with us and enabling the kind of conduct we're enforcing against," Chertoff told The Associated Press by telephone from London.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071115/ap_on_...ton_immigration

[natty bumppo 297]

Darn ... good thing I need a new pair of flip-flops ....

[Drew and Tik 0]

finally Elliott came to his senses....or maybe he's starting to notice how much his popularity is tanking

Would say it's definitely the second one. Rarely do politicians come to their senses without it having some advantage for themselves His approval was going down even in heavily democrat New York state, people just don't like the idea.