Spitzer Abandons Plan To Give Driver's Licenses To Illegal Immigrants

AP:

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has decided to abandon a plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, officials familiar with the decision told The Associated Press Tuesday night.

The governor is due to meet Wednesday morning with New York's congressional delegation, many of whom openly oppose the program. Debate over the issue also has spilled into New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign.

The governor's office signaled to New York lawmakers Tuesday that Spitzer will say at the meeting that he is shelving the plan and that immigration is a federal issue to be handled by Washington, according to congressional aides who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement had been made.

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[Ramirez]

Driver's Licenses for Illegals.

The good news for Hillary is now she can say she was against it all the way.

[loki]

I just hope new yorkers remember this long enough so when he comes up for reelection, they ditch is carcass out into the street and hopefully out of politics for ever. We dont need more nut cases in politics.

[JamesR.]

Oh gee, I know what's politically correct. What to do? Oh right.
Lou Dobbs is right. The fact that he picks on Mexican illegals only, is somewhat annoying, but he is right. There are rules for entering and staying in this country legally. They need to be enforced and that doesn't mean building a fence. It undermines people who live here as citizens, depresses wages, burdens the educational system and health and welfare systems. Now if you all want to move the fuck out and let everyone just come here and turn this into a third world country....well I think you get my point. Everyone should get equal weight and opportunity. People who follow the rules that is. I get angry when I hear americans don't want to do those jobs. Really? Raise the jobs to $50.00 and start turning away a ton of citizens, because that is exactly what will happen. Stop talking so crazy people.

[marko77]

Legal immigration - yes!

Illegal immigration - no!

Illegal immigrants are being used to keep American Citizens and legal immigrants from receiving a living wage.

Also, small, medium, large businesses and the mega-large corporations that hire illegal workers don't pay any taxes, which fund local schools, policemen, fireman, and medical services, as well as federal taxes for the military.

[fn0rd]

Once upon a time, we gave people a drivers license to show they knew the traffic laws and had demonstrated the skill to operate a car safely. Conversely, we'd take it away if they didn't.

Now, we don't give drivers licenses to people in debt, but we'll be happy to give one to some drunken Hamptonite who plows her SUV into pedestrians after getting the brush-off at a nightclub. But she's white, so who gives a flying f*ck if she's an dangerous sociopath.

Spitzer seems like a good guy but he's got to remember that an average IQ of 100 means more people think an extended warranty is a good deal, even if you have to pay for it on credit.

[lindamart60]

I'm really trying hard not to chuckle at this one.

You have to give credit for all of this to Rush Limbaugh. It was on his show that the eventual question asked by Tim Russert was suggested.

Up until the night of that debate, the media had not dared asked Mrs. Clinton a question.



God bless the troops who are doing a MAGNIFICENT job with the surge.

[realitytrumpsbull]

They've been playing Ping Pong with this one
for a while, it's kind of a split issue, on
the one hand, you could include the words
'foreign national' and make it an international
driver's license, which would be the right
way to handle it, but having a state driver's
license is a function of being a resident OF
that state, whichever state it turns out to
be, and in order to establish residency you
should have to have at least a green card etc.
The immigration system that we have has been
effectively short-circuited by several things,
including noncompliance, a lack of enforcement,
a lack of public awareness up til now, and many
other things. But, if you, as an american, were
to move to a foreign country, you would have to
jump through many legal hurdles to do so,
and so in the spirit of fairness it stands
to reason that residents of other countries,
should they wish to move to the United States
permanently, become citizens and so forth,
should likewise be expected to abide by and
comply with our state and federal laws where
applicable. Unfortunately, where there's money
involved, Bill Gates-kind of money, when there's
that much lettuce on the table, for some
mysterious reason, the rules such as they are
seem to start creeping around all by themselves
or maybe it's that magnetic money clip under
the table...hmmm....have to get that table
checked...

[Ilvfredum]

I wish I could get away with sneakin' in to Mexico. All those illiegal drugs and legal prostitution. The dollar is still worth a lot in Mexico. To bad that after 90 days if you are caught without legal papers they throw your ass in jail.

[mommadona]

(pssst - he must have gotten Hill's memo on the Blackberry...'What'taya doin' up dere! You're KILLIN' ME down here!!)

[truthyguy]

Well what do you know. The Schmuck finally got the message.

[HumeSkeptic]

Yippee! We won. The ILLEGALS can't get a licens... and we ca-an... ney ney ney, ney ney!

It is a great victory for America. Let those uncivilized ILLEGALS drive without a license. They deserve every bit of driving without a license. Better still, they will be driving without insurance.

I am really glad that Lou Dobbs is there to protect my right as an American to buy car insurance.

[GrouchoMarxist]

Well, I'm glad the all-important issue of New York State driving regulations has been cleared up. The requirements for getting a driver's license in the state of New York was, after all, the single most important issue facing our nation at this time.

Now, it's on to New York zoning ordinances.

[Rove]

Quoted from Hillary's website

Hillary understands that our immigration policies have a direct impact on American workers. She opposes a guest worker program that exploits workers and creates a supply of cheap labor that undermines the wages of U.S. workers. Hillary believes all workers deserve safe conditions and decent wages. She supports an Ag Jobs program, which will keep our agricultural industry vibrant while enabling agricultural workers to receive the fair wages and labor protections they ought to receive.

When Hillary is president, comprehensive immigration reform will be a top priority.

Ready to Lead

Hillary has advocated for policies to help smooth the transition of legal immigrants once they arrive in the U.S. so that they can add to our economy and culture.

* She championed the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act, which would give states the option to provide federally funded Medicaid and SCHIP benefits to low-income legal immigrant children and pregnant women.
* She wrote the Access to Employment and English Acquisition Act to meet the growing demand for English language courses and other job skills.
* She strongly supports the DREAM Act, which provides a path to citizenship through military service or higher education for children who were brought to the U.S. by their parents.
* She offered an amendment to make family reunification the guiding principle of our immigration system.

[EspressoAtNoon]

Well, at least that ridiculous idea of Spitzer's allowed Hillary to show what a slippery and rhetorically dishonest politician she is.

[Libsrule]

Thanks Lou!!!!