NY Guv’s Driver’s License Plan Threat to Entire Nation

(by Mike Cutler, AIM.org) – We all know that politics have played a major role in the creation and fueling of the immigration crisis now confronting our nation. Democrats have favored the massive influx of illegal aliens because they believe that the great majority of these new immigrants will vote for Democrat candidates. Republicans, on the other hand, have seen cheap labor in their massive numbers, and they believe the fruits of that labor will help generate corporate campaign contributions.

Added to this toxic mix are the various groups that stand to benefit greatly by having millions of people enter our country. Immigration lawyers see potential clients. Advocacy groups see political leverage and money. Employers of illegals see cheap, compliant and exploitable labor. Even some homeowners see gardeners, nannies, cooks and maids.

In fact, just about everyone makes out on the deal except for one group of people. A group of people that, while large in number, is finding the government to be increasingly less willing to represent them and their best interests.

Who are they? We the People.

Ours was meant to be a government of, by and for the people. Yet today, we the people are largely ignored by the government. Whom do we blame? Greedy corporations? Power hungry politicians? Grasping attorneys looking to beat the system? No, none of the above; the only people we have to blame are ourselves.

More Americans sit out elections than participate in the most precious right on earth: the right to vote to elect people to run our government and, hence, our lives. Many people do not even know who their elected representatives are. Even among those who know the names of their elected representatives, they never contact them about issues that concern them. In order to have truly representative government, we the people need to make certain that those who are elected to represent us know what we want.

When we go to a restaurant for a meal we certainly don’t tell the waiter to bring us whatever he feels like serving us; we are expected to order what we want and how we want it prepared. Why then do we abrogate our responsibility to tell our politicians what we want out of them, especially as what they deliver determines how many taxes we pay, how safe our country is for American families, what kind of education our children will have, what kind of medical treatments will be available to us, and so much more.

New York’s Governor Eliot Spitzer is one such politician. His outrageous plan to allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses in the State of New York will not only do harm to the residents of New York, it has the potential to do grave harm to our entire nation. The Governor and his political allies are claiming that the issuance of driver’s licenses to illegal aliens will enhance security because the licenses are supposedly tamper resistant, but that is irrelevant. The real issue is that illegal aliens who may have criminal histories or be linked to terrorist organizations can easily obtain licenses in false names. Even if you don’t live in New York, aliens from your state may well travel to New York and then return back to your state with a license issued in a false name. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link: New York has destroyed the chain.

Also, if New York does this, can your state be far behind? New York is the second most populace state in the country and has an awful lot of clout. Politicians around the United States are, no doubt, watching to see what will happen in New York. If New York, the state that was most heavily hit on September 11, 2001, can violate the recommendations and findings of the 9/11 Commission and then violate the provisions of the REAL ID Act, scheduled to begin to be implemented next year, then your state may not be far behind.

The issue of the REAL ID Act is not a minor issue. It was passed by a huge majority of representatives from both sides of the political aisle because they realized that this bill was intended to implement the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Furthermore, if a state issues driver’s licenses that don’t comply with the REAL ID Act, the federal government will then not permit the bearers of those licenses to use them as proper identification documents to board AMTRAK trains or airliners. The federal government also will not permit you to enter federal buildings or facilities. You would then, most probably, have to walk around with the closest thing to a national identity document that the federal government issues, a United States passport.

You can read the provisions of the REAL ID Act at:

http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/laws/gc_1172767635686.shtm

If you don’t have a passport, you will have to apply for one in order to comply with the federal REAL ID Act. This is a costly proposition and would also require that you wait until your application can be processed.

It’s important to remember: if Spitzer gets away with this, your state may be next.

The majority of county clerks throughout New York State have made it known that they will violate the Governor’s edict if he goes ahead with his plan. These clerks understand how dangerous and illegal Spitzer’s plan is. We need to match their courage!

Therefore I am enlisting your help. We the People need to let Governor Spitzer hear from us. I would encourage you to call him and/or e-mail him. He is eager to hear from all Americans and we must not let him down! You find his contact information at:

http://www.ny.gov/contact/index.html

Don’t think that he shouldn’t hear from you because you are not a resident of the State of New York. His decisions will have a major impact on all Americans and We the People need to tell him what we think of his choice. Please pass this along to everyone you know and ask them to take a minute to call or e-mail the Governor of the State of New York.

The massive number of phone calls that We the People made to the United States Senate killed Comprehensive Immigration Reform that I came to refer to as the “Terrorist Assistance and Facilitation Act of 2007.” It is time for all of us to make our voices heard again!

Finally, think about this: If We the People become involved in the political process, we will force our elected representatives to stop ignoring us and our concerns. What a wonderful thing we will be doing for ourselves, our nation and especially for our children! Every soldier who fought in every war since the American Revolution put their lives on the line, indeed, may have lost their lives to guarantee this very right: to be represented in Washington, D.C., by those who will be responsive to our needs.

Let’s make the telephones ring! In Governor Spitzer’s office and in the offices of politicians throughout the United States. Democracy is not a spectator sport!

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Michael Cutler is a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and a well-respected authority on immigration and border security issues.  The original article can be found at http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/

First posted at AIM.org on Oct. 8, 2007.  Reprinted here Oct. 11, 2007 with permission from Accuracy in Media.  Visit the website at www.AIM.org.