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Thursday, December 27, 2007 Cox - Illegal Immigrants Can't Get Michigan Driver's License
LANSING - Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox says illegal immigrants can no longer get a state driver's license, bolstering efforts by state officials to create a far more secure state identification card as proof of citizenship. Cox's legal opinion overrules an opinion written in 1995 by former Attorney General Frank Kelley. Michigan is one of a handful of states in which illegal immigrants have been able to get driver's licenses. But Cox says people who aren't lawfully in the U.S. can't be residents of Michigan for the purposes of obtaining a driver's license. Rep. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge), who requested the opinion, hailed it as an improvement to security in the state. "The practice of granting illegal aliens driver's licenses is dangerous. As a former sheriff, I know that terrorists can use driver's licenses as proof of identity to board airplanes and other modes of transportation," he said. "Driver's licenses can also be used as to gain employment, stealing jobs from Michigan citizens." Officials with the Department of State will still reviewing the opinion to determine how it would affect branch office operations. "This issue been a long standing concern for Secretary (Teri Lynn) Land," said spokesperson Ken Silfven. "It appears to dovetail with the secretary's initiative to enhance the security of driver's licenses." Michigan would adopt upgraded driver's licenses and identification cards and optional cards with additional security measures to meet standards under the federal REAL ID act and national Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. In addition to an upgraded standard license, an optional enhanced license suitable for border crossing under the WHTI, thereby avoiding the requirement that U.S. residents obtain a passport to travel to Canada, Mexico and Bermuda as of January 1. The standard license will contain bar code technology similar to what state cards already contain, and costs will be slightly higher due to enhanced security features and additional review of documents that are aimed to deter fraud. The new standard license would be available to all residents and legal immigrants. It could be used for domestic air travel when provisions of the REAL ID Act, which otherwise require passports, take effect. Federal rules for the law are still pending. The new optional license could be used for travel to all Western Hemisphere countries once WHTI takes effect, and it would be available only to residents who are U.S. citizens. This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
Author: Staff Writer Source: MITechNews.Com
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