It’s one of the last high-profile issues on the table in Albany, and its resolution will show how far suburban Democratic senators will yield to progressives. We’re talking, of course, about the bill to let illegal immigrants get New York driver’s licenses.
The Assembly-passed “Green Light” bill lets people use identification from their native countries, including foreign driver’s licenses that are no more than two years expired. Plus, it bans DMV workers from asking any questions about immigration status or requiring proof of legal US residence.
One clear downside: A standard New York license will be a weak form of ID, since it’s easier to get away with forged foreign documents. Indeed, the bill requires the words “Not for Federal Purposes” to show on the license face (in the smallest possible type).
Indeed, people may start assuming that having a “standard” New York license means you’re not legally here. Already, come Oct. 1, 2020, you’ll need an “enhanced” license (which requires more ID to get) to board a domestic flight or travel to Canada, and a Real ID one (which needs even more proof of identity) for other purposes.
Supporters argue that the change means safer roads and a bit more state revenue from 752,000 new DMV customers. And it would help the undocumented feel more accepted and secure here.
But normalizing the breaking of immigration law (rather than reforming those laws) is a red flag for many. Public outrage derailed then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s 2007 push for “illegal licenses,” and a Siena College poll recently found that 53 percent of New Yorkers oppose it, with just 41 percent in favor.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and State Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs have both worried publicly about the political risks. But the left is pushing hard: Several more-moderate Senate Democrats just came out for the Assembly bill, and Cuomo has expressed his willingness to sign it if it does pass the Senate.
A lot of voters are already going to be furious once they realize how badly the Legislature botched criminal-justice reforms (as noted by Albany DA David Soares, himself a major reformer, on the opposite page).
Upstate and suburban senators need to think hard about taking away the progressives’ license to drive the legislative agenda.
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