Erie County Legislators John Mills and Ed Rath introduced a resolution supported by their colleagues in the Minority Caucus opposing state legislation that would provide driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. Recently, Governor Cuomo signaled he would sign the bill if it is passed by the state Legislature.

Similar legislation was proposed in 2007 by former Governor Spitzer, which was vehemently opposed by then County Clerk Kathy Hochul who now serves as Lt. Governor. Lt. Governor Hochul at the time said giving illegal immigrants a license “gives them cover.” She also stated she would have illegal immigrants arrested if they applied in one of her offices.

The legislation is opposed by law enforcement and county clerks across the state.

Legislator Rath said, “New York State cannot support this easier access to identification for illegal immigrants than its current legal citizens. The law provides specific procedures for immigrants to become legal citizens, and offering drivers licenses before they have done so interferes with the legal process.” 

Legislator Dixon said, “As some county clerks have pointed out, they are regularly forced to reject driver’s licenses for legal citizens who do not have the proper documentation to ensure their identity with them when they apply. Whether it is a social security card or birth certificate, these documents are important to confirming an individual is who they say they are. Under the proposed legislation, an illegal immigrant could present documents clerks have no means of verifying when issuing a license. This creates a public safety concern for clerks, their staff, and law enforcement across New York State.”

State Sen. Luis Sepulveda, who authored the bill to provide licenses to undocumented immigrants, also recently introduced a bill that would give the Governor authority to remove a County Clerk from office if they refuse to issue the licenses. Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns, who recently released an op-ed on the topic, has made it known he will not comply by the bill if it is passed.

Clerk Kearns said, “The Legislators supporting this bill failed to educate the public on its adverse impacts. Fraud, for example, is a very real consequence. To guard against fraud, DMV employees will require training to identify documents from 195 countries around the world. Even trained experts experience difficulty deciphering fraudulent documents and it’s unfair to expect auto bureau employees to do so.”

Legislator Mills said, “Obtaining a driver’s license is a privilege earned by those who legally become citizens. This policy ignores federal law and puts undue stress on our county clerks and their employees who would be responsible for processing these applications. Our resolution stands with Clerk Kearns and calls on leaders in Albany to reject this unnecessary proposal.”

Legislator Lorigo said, “This policy would violate federal law and create a host of problems for county clerks across the state. As Clerk Kearns points out, DMV staff will now be tasked with knowing how to identify fraudulent documents from hundreds of different sources. If an individual cannot identify themselves as a legal citizen of the United States, they should not be able to obtain a driver’s license.”

The resolution was referred to the Government Affairs Committee for further discussion. A copy of it can be found here.