Fear of Terror Used as Political Club -- Again

Eliott Spitzer is still working on making the list of New Yorkers' Top 10 Favorite Governors. He has that sort of you're-guilty-and-I'm-not air about him that former prosecutors seem uniquely able to turn to their advantage and, eventually, high political office. So while there have been plenty of legitimate opportunities for his opponents to take aim at one or more of his comments, missteps, or initiatives, his latest bid to permit New York's Department of Motor Vehicles to issue drivers licenses to undocumented (read: illegal) aliens is not one of them. At least not from a War on Terror perspective.

Let's be clear here. While there may be more than one reason to oppose this new measure, almost every opponent has woven into the diatribe against it some reference to 9/11, the War on Terror, or Our Nation's Security. So what exactly is so insecure about giving illegal aliens drivers' licenses?

Well, nothing. At least if you take the trouble to look at the revised regulations. Here is the main difference between the existing system and Gov. Spitzer's proposed system: Under the existing system, if you were not eligible for a Social Security number, you had to submit to the DMV a letter from the Social Security Administration that you were not eligible for a number. The Social Security Administration will not issue such letters to illegal aliens.

Under the proposed system, an applicant that does not have a Social Security number and cannot produce a letter of ineligibility from the Social Security Administration will (a) have to swear that he or she does not have a Social Security number; (b) have to swear that he or she is ineligible for a Social Security number; and (c) provide the DMV with identity documents, "including a current and valid foreign passport, that support that status."

As an additional protection, individuals who cannot provide a Social Security number or ineligibility letter will not be able to get their licenses "over the counter," the way most licenses are issued. Their applications -- which must comply with the state's "six points of identification" requirement -- will be reviewed by a newly-established Document Verification Unit. According to Gov. Spitzer, specially trained staff will review these applications.

So how in God's name is this any less secure than the present method of issuing licenses? Replacing an easy-to-get Social Security card (never intended, by the way, to serve as proof of identity) with a harder-to-get passport, even one issued by a foreign country, won't weaken our country's security. Building a database of verifiable information about otherwise undocumented aliens certainly won't hurt our efforts to make our nation more secure.

For more detail on exactly how New York intends to implement the new license requirements, see http://www.ny.gov/governer/press/100507DMV_print.html.

It's time for our political leaders to start leading and stop hiding behind 9/11 and terror. Find solid ground if you want to make a political stand. Stop hiding behind ghosts.

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