Gov. Susana Martinez
Gov. Susana Martinez is putting her full weight behind legislation that would repeal the state law that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, going on the offensive with radio ads and robocalls.
In doing so, Martinez appears to be challenging legislators to approve one of her top priorities or face the political consequences of being opposed to the opinions of most voters on a hot-button issue.
“As I traveled across the state, it was clear New Mexicans from all parties overwhelmingly supported doing away with this dangerous law,” Martinez said in a prepared statement. “Frankly, the only place I’ve found opposition to repealing it has been in the Roundhouse, and I hope legislators will listen to those they have been elected to serve and give this bill an up-or-down vote.”
The Republican Martinez is putting heavy pressure on Democrats who have voted against the legislation on the Senate floor and in a House committee. On Tuesday, her gubernatorial campaign began running the radio ad statewide urging people to call their lawmakers to lobby for repeal of the law. You can listen to it here.
“Some legislators are blocking a vote, protecting a bad law,” the ad states.
And the state Republican Party came out with a robocall that hit the district of Rep. Rhonda King, D-Stanley, and others. The recorded message asks people to call their lawmakers and tell them to “stop giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.”
The Office of House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, was flooded with calls on Tuesday from people who want the law repealed.
Dems have thus far rejected the proposal
The governor’s push comes after a series of votes in which Democrats repeatedly rejected attempts to repeal the controversial law. On Saturday, the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee tabled three such bills, including a Martinez-endorsed bill sponsored by Rep. Andy Nuñez, I-Hatch.
Then on Monday, during debate on a bill related to provisional driving for minors, the Senate defeated two proposed GOP amendments that would have repealed the controversial law. That happened on a mostly party-line vote.
But Martinez isn’t the only one lobbying. According to the Albuquerque Journal, “About 2,000 people who support the law have called Martinez’s office to voice their beliefs, said Marcela Diaz, executive director of the Santa Fe-based Somos Un Pueblo Unido.”
New Mexico is one of three states, along with Washington and Utah, that doesn’t require proof of citizenship to obtain a license. Supporters of the law say allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain licenses has reduced the rate of uninsured drivers on the roads. Critics point to instances in which immigrants who are in the United States illegally have traveled to New Mexico to obtain licenses.
That tension between those two positions was apparent in Monday’s Senate debate. According to the Journal, Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque said the law is “preventing problems,” not causing them, but Sen. William Sharer, R-Farmington, said New Mexico’s license “currently is a compromised security document.”
There’s still time
There’s still time in the session for the issue to come up again. Martinez plans to continue pushing. In a Saturday news release, she pointed to an Albuquerque Journal poll that found that 72 percent of New Mexicans oppose the law.
“This critical matter of public safety deserves an up-or-down vote on the floor of the Legislature,” Martinez said in that news release. “The people of New Mexico have made it clear that they disapprove of the policy of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, but their voices are sadly not being heard by some of their elected representatives.”
One question is whether Nuñez will try to gather enough votes to blast his bill out of the committee that has tabled it and bring it directly to the House floor for a vote. Nuñez would need the support of the entire GOP caucus – which he’s likely to have – and at least two Democrats to make that happen.
Nuñez wouldn’t go into detail, but said he’s working on reviving his bill and thinks “it still has a chance.”
In the meantime, some believe Martinez is pushing for floor votes for political reasons. The law is unpopular in many legislative districts, and her opposition to it proved to be a key part of Martinez’s victory in the primary and general elections last year.
“We know why all these amendments are coming down,” Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, said during Monday’s Senate debate, according to Capitol Report New Mexico. “This is about politics and getting people on the record for a vote.”