Judicial Watch Files Lawsuit Against New York Governor, DMV Over Driver Licenses for Illegal
Friday, November 02, 2007
By Tom Fitton
Judicial Watch President
On September 27, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer and the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) circumvented the law to impose a controversial new policy that will “give all New Yorkers the opportunity to apply for driver licenses without regard to immigration status.” (You’ve heard of a sanctuary city. Well… I guess this means New York is now a sanctuary state.
This new policy, which was done without consulting the New York State Legislature, or abiding by rule-making laws in the New York State Constitution, is in direct violation of New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, which mandates that the DMV Commissioner “shall require that the [driver’s license] applicant provide his or her social security number.”
There is a very good reason why social security numbers have always been required for a driver license. According to a DMV memorandum, social security numbers are used “to verify that the applicant is, in fact, who s/he purports to be,” which “enhances the security of those documents…in recognition of the fact that the driver license is relied on by the commercial and law enforcement communities…” Seems straightforward enough
Under the new DMV policy, however, applicants will not have to provide a social security number to receive a driver license. They must only provide a foreign passport and some secondary form of identification, such as a lease or a copy of parole papers in order to obtain a license.
So much for identify verification.
Moreover, since driver licenses are used for voter registration, this new policy will undoubtedly lead to increased voter fraud as illegal aliens flood the polls. DMV Chief David Swarts, a defendant in our lawsuit, told a shocked State Senate panel on Wednesday that illegals could even use the licenses to buy guns! “Yeah, I guess it proves who they are,” he said
Judicial Watch moved quickly to file a lawsuit on Wednesday in the New York Supreme Court for Suffolk County on behalf of New York taxpayer James M. Staudenraus. We’re asking the court to prevent the state from improperly using any more taxpayer funds to implement this new illegal policy. (Our lawsuit is already making headlines.) I will be sure to keep you posted as we move along.
Until next week…
Tom Fitton
President
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