New York State will begin issuing new versions of so-called secure driver licenses as well as a version specifically for undocumented immigrants, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said last weekend.
New York joins three other states which have announced plans to comply with the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to set standards for state driver licenses and identification cards, or the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires everyone to present a passport or approved alternative document when crossing the U.S. border.
One license for New Yorkers would incorporate “facial recognition technology, central issuance procedures, and advanced document verification systems,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said at a joint press conference with Spitzer.
The second would also incorporate additional security features, such as RFID technology, to comply with requirements for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and allow holders to use it instead of a passport to cross the Canadian border.
The third version of the license, to be provided to undocumented immigrants, would be marked as not valid for federal identification.
“Besides being a massive defeat for the governor, I can’t imagine many — if any — illegal immigrants coming forward to get the driver’s licenses, because they’d basically be labeled as illegal,” said New York Rep. Peter King, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee.
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 said in September when he announced his executive order. — Associated Press
It’s a brilliant move for those concerned with illegal immigration: Such people either get the license and have their addresses on file so the government can easily round them up at their convenience, or they don’t get the license and sooner or later get arrested for not having one.
The federal government has not finalized the standards for REAL ID compliant licenses, but is said to be two to three months away. DHS issued draft regulations in March, and Chertoff has said he will push forward with REAL ID despite widespread opposition.
And for you Americans, your turn to be rounded up comes later.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works license.
Video published by this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Sampling+ license.
Bad Behavior has blocked 3006 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Facebook
Digg
del.icio.us
reddit.com
Newsvine
Javarod
Nov 02, 2007
Hmmm, driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants might not be a bad thing, after all, out here in AZ we have a problem with unlicensed uninsured illegal immigrant drivers of unknown size. With a path to legally operating a vehicle in this country, its quite possible that it’d cut down significantly on the problem, at least I would hope.
Bob
Nov 02, 2007
There are a lot of people out there who don’t care what is legal, they don’t care about tomorrow, they don’t want to better themselves, they don’t care if they are arrested, and a lot of them don’t know where they are going to sleep tonight or where they are going to get their next meal. They just do what they do, and take what they can get to stay alive and have some “fun”. My guess would be that they add up to no less than 10% of our population.
This whole program will just be another hassle for these people and if they are confronted with it, they’ll just get mad and vandalize something or shoot somebody or steal something or maybe beat somebody up. Maybe you.
I’m not saying we should “help them” or round them up or anything, just stating what I have observed to be a fact.
This fact seems to be hard for mainstream yuppy and baby-boomer policy makers to wrap their heads around.
Programs like this do not solve problems, they just create new ones for law abiding citizens.
Bob
Nov 02, 2007
This is great at least temporarily most bombers, illegals, etc.
will head to New York.
SUE
Nov 03, 2007
“THIS IS ANOTHER JOKE ON US,WE THE PEOPLE”
Slim
Nov 03, 2007
I am a NY resident and awhile ago sent my “representatives” letters telling them I will not take a REAL ID. They will make a criminal out of me before I take a National ID card. I have drawn my line in the sand and will give no more ground.
Margie Laupheimer
Nov 03, 2007
Our sovereignty, along with our freedom, is circling down the drain fast. When I read stuff like this it actually makes me nauseous. There is only one who can get us out of this mess and begin to restore America to the land it once was. That one is Ron Paul. Anyone who thinks that Hillary, Rudy, Barack, Dennis or any of the others can restore America is smoking some extraordinary drugs.
Check this out for info on Ron Paul
official site:
Ron Paul for President
Just more bs
Nov 04, 2007
What bs anything can be duplicated? Will it stop any crimes, na??? It will just make us have less freedom right or will it save us from more crime????
illegals
Nov 04, 2007
Yes there are tons of killer illegal aliens running around ready to steal your id and put you in a coffin to pretend to be you. How do we stop them??? Will this work or will anyone who hires cheap labor really give a damn. Hell no it is all about the bottom line. IF they can make money off of them they don’t care if the person on the ID does’nt look like them. It happens every day.
Jbonic
Nov 20, 2007
Seems to me all their really trying to do is prevent a civil war, which also seems to be inevitable.
umbrae
Nov 23, 2007
History shows that snoopers are stalkers. Administrations that SPY on their citizens also KILL their citizens. Scared bullies snoop to see who resents them. People hate this & say so; the bully says “aha!” & spies more; & so on until the paranoid wretch has to SHUT THEM UP. Then come the ridicule, hostility, & murders. To track, spy, & deny travel is un-American, but the old USSR & Nazi Germany liked it a lot. – Vaterland SSecurity says: “Ve vill track you und plant your ‘biometric sample’ at a crime scene because ve fear American freedom.” – No intelligent person respects an unjust law OR cooperates with its toadies. We reject traitors who spy, stalk, & restrict. WE love American freedom & human rights. WE have moral authority, & WE will prevail.
Michaels!
Dec 04, 2007
wow this site is hilarious
Anonymous
Dec 10, 2007
Margie Laupheimer:
You are thinking correctly….DENNIS KUCINICH/RON PAUL are the only two that can/will SAVE AMERICA!!
But….unfortunately, we as FEDERAL CITIZEN’S/NOT U.S.CITIZEN’S will not allow that to happen
It seem’s as though….the majority of the citizenry think that we NEED….
FEMA,CIA, and all the other entity’s of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
IT HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED IN US
1776resister
Dec 22, 2007
electronic voting machines are not failsafe. They will be tampered with. How can we defend our vote againest them?
Ron Paul has my vote. Will it be counted? We know how this will end, my friend. The truth is out there, lets give it to them.
RESIST
Backglass
Dec 30, 2007
ATTENTION PARANOID NEW YORKERS:
Open your wallet or purse. Remove your drivers license. Turn it over and actually LOOK at the back. See the mish-mash of stuff at the bottom? Do you know what it is? It is a RealID 2-d Barcode.
YOU ALREADY HAVE REALID. New York state is already 100% RealID compliant.
Take off yout tin foil hat and relax…have a beer. And please let us know when you rip up your license and stop driving.
Anonymous
Jan 12, 2008
17 states have refused to participate in real id. However, when a resident needs the real id to do anything requiring federal id, do they request real id from the motor vehichle office?