Mounting Fraud in New Mexico with Driver’s Licenses Issued to Illegal Aliens, Gov. Martinez Is Fighting to Change Law
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on January 26, 2012
New Mexico is experiencing growing fraud with illegal aliens and driver's licenses
New Mexico is nicknamed the “Land of Enchantment.”
It also is a favorite state of illegal aliens, as it one of the two only states in the entire nation that permits driver’s licenses to be issued to illegal immigrants. Washington is the other.
However, fraud in the data given for driver’s licenses has been escalating, and newly elected Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is fighting pro-illegal alien lobbyists and supporters to change the law.
From Fox News, New Mexico driver’s license data point to fraud:
SANTA FE, N.M. – Dozens of the same business and residential addresses were used repeatedly by people to obtain driver’s licenses in New Mexico in a pattern that suggests fraud by immigrants trying to game the system, an Associated Press investigation has found.
In one instance, 48 foreign nationals claimed to live at a smoke shop in Albuquerque to get a license. In another case, more than a dozen claimed to live at an automotive repair shop over a one-year period. The scenario has been repeated at other addresses since New Mexico changed its law in 2003 to allow illegal immigrants to get the same driver’s license as a U.S. citizen — one of just two states allowing that.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is pressing the Legislature to scrap the law because of public safety concerns about widespread fraud. She contends New Mexico has become a magnet for out-of-state immigrants seeking a license, which can be used to board airplanes, conduct financial transactions or get another license in some other state. The governor’s proposal will be considered by a legislative committee on Thursday.
Having an address in New Mexico is a critical part of getting a license. Applicants without a Social Security number must prove their identity with multiple documents such as a passport or notarized English translation of a foreign birth certificate. They also must show New Mexico residency with other documents, including property lease agreements, utility bills and bank statements. Of the more than 90,000 licenses issued so far to foreign nationals, it’s impossible to know how many are illegal immigrants because the state doesn’t ask a person’s immigration status.
The AP analyzed license data since 2003 and found a striking pattern at addresses across the state that suggests the license system is being abused.
Seventeen people with different last names used a car repair shop’s address in Albuquerque for licenses during nine months in 2007; only four additional licenses were issued to people using that same address in 2008 and 2009.
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New Mexico and Washington are the only states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain a driver’s license. Utah grants immigrants a special driving permit that cannot be used as identification.
In New Mexico, repeal of the immigrant license issue became a hot-button political topic when Martinez — a former prosecutor — made it a centerpiece of her 2010 campaign for governor and it remains an emotional issue in this year’s legislative session.
The AP requested the license data to try to determine whether there was evidence to back up Martinez administration claims of fraud in the immigrant license system.
There are 170 addresses in New Mexico at which 10 or more licenses have been issued to different foreign nationals from 2003 through August 2011, according to the AP analysis. The addresses account for 2,662 licenses — representing nearly 3 percent of the total issued to foreign nationals during that period. Those are licenses issued to individuals for the first time and do not include renewals.
Seattle Post Intelligencer has more on this story:
Thirty-one people listed a mobile home address in Albuquerque to obtain licenses over 29 months and sometimes the licenses came in quick succession. One a week was issued on average at that address during a two-month stretch at the end of 2008. But no additional licenses have been issued since then.
Those claiming the smoke shop address as their legal residence in New Mexico obtained licenses from May 2005 through 2010. Only two of the four dozen individuals had the same last name — making it highly unlikely that they were part of the same family.
Critics say it’s obvious what is happening.
“This is yet another sign of how New Mexico’s driver’s license has been compromised and is not secure,” said Scott Darnell, a spokesman for Martinez. “When business addresses are being used as residential addresses by a large number of foreign nationals for the purpose of obtaining a driver’s license, it’s highly concerning and it points to the presence of fraud that has persisted in this program for some time.”
From New York Times, A New Fight on Licenses for Illegal Immigrants:
SANTA FE, N.M. — It is legislative season in New Mexico, which means it is time once again to debate whether illegal immigrants should be granted driver’s licenses.
For the third straight session, Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, will be pushing to repeal a nearly decade-old law that allows New Mexico residents who are in this country illegally to obtain the licenses.
Debate over the issue has not only bitterly divided lawmakers in the state — one of only two that permits illegal immigrants to get the same licenses as citizens — it has also become a recurring theme of Ms. Martinez’s tenure.
This year’s legislative session, which convened Tuesday, promises to be no different as both sides gear up for another contentious battle over the issue.
“The policy of giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, which nearly every other state has repealed or opposed, leads to fraud, human trafficking, organized crime and significant security concerns,” said Scott Darnell, a spokesman for Ms. Martinez, who gave a nod to the repeal efforts in her State of the State address on Tuesday.
“The issue has been debated long enough; it doesn’t take much time for lawmakers to vote to repeal this dangerous law,” Mr. Darnell said.
But opponents are vowing to beat back the first-term governor’s latest efforts, and say her fixation on the issue has spawned an environment of fear among immigrants in New Mexico.
“I think voters are pretty tired of this issue,” said Marcela Díaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a New Mexico immigrant advocacy group. “We know New Mexicans care about jobs and the economy and not wedge issues and this kind of political posturing.”
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