Here we are in the midst of a battle with Congress for the Heart and Soul of America and Spitzer throws this into the middle of what is turning into an inferno. What are they thinking, not just spitzer, all of them.

Where are we now as a Nation? Where will we be as a Nation in 10 years?

“When governments fear the people there is liberty
When people fear the government, there is tyranny”….
-Thomas Jefferson

Rep. Reynolds warns Spitzer on allowing illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses

Reynolds says plan could derail use of ‘enhanced’ licenses for border crossing

Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer’s desire to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants could derail a plan to use enhanced licenses instead of passports as acceptable documents at the U.S.-Canada border, Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds warned Tuesday.

Though the Clarence Republican described himself as heartened by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff’s declaration Monday in Buffalo that he is open to an enhanced driver’s license for border crossings, Reynolds said he fears Spitzer’s campaign promise to extend driving privileges to those in the country illegally would justify the federal government’s original plan to require passports at the border.

“I’m just afraid the governor’s public comments will give [Homeland Security] an excuse to deny New York’s eligibility,” Reynolds said.

As a result, he sent a letter to Spitzer asking him to reconsider his position on licenses for illegal immigrants.

“I strongly urge you to develop minimum standards for all U.S. citizens to be eligible for a driver’s license which would meet thresholds for such IDs set forth by both DHS and the State Department,” Reynolds wrote. “Unfortunately, these two bureaucracies have been unable to develop a plan that is simple, economical and accessible for all U.S. citizens and New Yorkers, and they may use your comments to continue their inept inaction on this matter.”

Indeed, Reynolds’ fears also raised questions for Homeland Security, which has proposed passports — issued after a security investigation — as the best document for clearing a U.S.- Canada border that traditionally relied on “oral declarations” of citizenship. It also has authorized study of other documents consistent with its Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

“In order for a document to be WHTI-compliant, it has to verify U.S. citizenship, and it has to verify identification via a photo,” said Laura Keehner, Homeland Security spokeswoman. “If New York is intent on having a WHTI-compliant driver’s license, they would need to issue all driver’s licenses to legal citizens.”

Still, support continues to build for a concept that state officials believe can work even if illegal immigrants do receive driver’s licenses.

Michael A.L. Balboni, the state’s deputy secretary for public safety, said Tuesday that some national studies propose issuing enhanced licenses to legal New Yorkers and another document that covering only driving privileges to illegal immigrants.

“We’re attempting to achieve a balance that includes this great economic resource and the privilege of driving while maintaining security,” he said.

Balboni acknowledged that minority communities might oppose a document that could lead to discrimination in some instances, but he said he believes those problems could be overcome.

“This is one of the options we are considering,” he said.

He also said that making the system work would require significant expansion of national data bases in areas like immigration and driver’s licenses across the country.

During his campaign for governor last year, Spitzer was reported on various occasions to favor lifting restrictions on driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, arguing such bans worsened their situation while failing to enhance national security.

But now driver’s licenses are catapulting into the national security lexicon as Washington State and British Columbia embark on a pilot program sponsored by Homeland Security that will determine if licenses can be “loaded” electronically with enough information to satisfy federal authorities worried about terrorists slipping across the northern border.

“We formed a partnership with DHS to develop a card that essentially becomes an alternate document,” said Brad Benfield, spokesman for the Washington Department of Licensing. “We have to come up with something that passes federal muster.”

The effort involves developing a card with a “machine readable zone” similar to magnetic strips on credit cards, Benfield said. That part of the card would contain information required for a passport that would prove the holder is a U.S. citizen.

The enhanced driver’s license will be available only to those who request them, take no longer to obtain and cost about an additional $15 — far less than the $97 required for a passport or for projected prices of other secure documents that have been proposed. Washington State hopes to begin implementing the new program Jan. 1, Benfield added.

“It’s something we here in Washington saw the need for and jumped on early,” he said. “Hopefully, it will also pay dividends for states like yours.”

Chertoff; Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport; and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., repeatedly referred to the Washington State pilot program during their remarks Monday at the Peace Bridge, all pointing to the project as holding great hope for a similar program in New York.

The idea also was proposed to Spitzer in May by all members of the Western New York delegation to the State Legislature, according to Assemblyman Robin L. Schimminger, DKenmore. That followed a meeting between legislators from Western New York and southern Ontario.

“Our suggestion of a New York-Ontario-Quebec demonstration project now takes on much greater viability,” Schimminger said, especially in view of Chertoff’s statements Monday indicating his interest in expanding study of the Washington project to New York.

County Clerk Kathleen C. Hochul, nevertheless, warned Tuesday that any such program would involve significant costs that must be covered by some entity other than Erie County.

“There’s going to be a financial impact, and I don’t feel the taxpayers of Erie County should foot the bill,” she said.

The entire border crossing issue is expected to receive even greater scrutiny July 20, when the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing in Buffalo.

“It’s another step in the right direction,” said Slaughter, who plans to testify at the hearing at a location to be determined. “The more attention we can draw to WHTI, the more confident I am that we will build up the support needed to fix it once and for all.”

Enhanced Driver’s License

If approved by the Department of Homeland Security, your new state driver’s license might involve:

–A “machine readable zone” similar to the magnetic strip on a credit card.

–Information available to border agents that verifies citizenship and other questions raised by a passport investigation.

–Identity verification through a photograph.

–Require a fee of about $15 more than a regular license, compared with $97 for a passport, according to Washington State pilot program.

rmccarthy@buffnews.com