{"id":36785,"date":"2012-02-15T08:28:44","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T15:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=36785"},"modified":"2012-02-15T08:28:47","modified_gmt":"2012-02-15T15:28:47","slug":"sadly-compromise-is-elusive-on-drivers-license-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/02\/sadly-compromise-is-elusive-on-drivers-license-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Sadly, compromise is elusive on driver\u2019s license debate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pete<\/a>

Pete Campos<\/p><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s something we can all agree on: New Mexico\u2019s current system of giving driver\u2019s licenses to people who are in the country illegally is not working. Unfortunately, the Legislature\u2019s and the governor\u2019s inability to agree on a solution means we\u2019re stuck with the problem for another year.<\/p>\n

It reminds me of a married couple that agrees their old car needs to be replaced, but she wants to buy a new sedan and he wants to replace it with an SUV. Either would be a good solution, but since they can\u2019t agree, they continue to drive a vehicle that keeps giving them trouble.<\/p>\n

The House of Representatives has passed legislation favored by the governor that would prohibit undocumented immigrants from getting New Mexico driver\u2019s licenses. The Senate approved a measure that would ensure that undocumented immigrants who get driver\u2019s licenses actually are who they say they are and actually live in New Mexico. Either proposal would solve the problem; doing neither just makes things worse.<\/p>\n

Our system has flaws<\/h3>\n

My view, not surprisingly, is that the Senate proposal has more merit. The governor and the House of Representatives should seriously consider approving it. Our driver\u2019s license is not a passport or an identification card; it is a permit to drive a motor vehicle. It is proof that the person whose name and photo is on it is who that person claims to be, lives where that person claims to live and knows the rules of the road.<\/p>\n

Properly licensing all New Mexico drivers allows police officers and prosecutors to better track and prosecute drunk drivers. It allows the state to make sure that New Mexico drivers carry the proper insurance. It helps ensure that people involved in accidents won\u2019t flee the scene because they don\u2019t have a license to drive.<\/p>\n

Those are problems we\u2019ve fought in New Mexico for a long time. By linking driver\u2019s license databases with motor vehicle insurance databases and with court databases, we\u2019ve made our roads safer; that\u2019s undeniable.<\/p>\n

But it is equally undeniable that our current system has flaws. We know that people who don\u2019t live in New Mexico are getting driver\u2019s licenses. We know that some people who may actually live here are nevertheless providing the state with false addresses when they get a New Mexico driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n

We can fix the system<\/h3>\n

We can fix those problems, however, and the legislation approved by the Senate would do that. The Senate compromise significantly tightens the requirements that foreign nationals must meet to get a driver\u2019s license. People who cannot show that they are in the United States legally must provide a tax identification number; proof of their true identity, such as a passport from their home country; two proofs that they really live in New Mexico, such as utility bills, bank statements, rental or mortgage receipts or student records; and they must be fingerprinted.<\/p>\n

In addition, licenses granted to people who cannot prove that they are here legally will be valid for only a year, and they\u2019d have to come into a motor vehicle division office personally to renew a license.<\/p>\n

This compromise will help ensure that people who have New Mexico driver\u2019s licenses are genuine New Mexico residents and have provided their true identity to the state. It will keep both our highways and our nation safer. The governor and the House of Representatives should look favorably on it.<\/p>\n

Campos<\/a>\u00a0is a Democratic state senator from Las Vegas and president of\u00a0Luna Community College<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Mexico\u2019s current system of giving driver\u2019s licenses to people who are in the country illegally is not working. Unfortunately, the Legislature\u2019s and the governor\u2019s inability to agree on a solution means we\u2019re stuck with the problem for another year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[140,142,107],"class_list":["post-36785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-border-and-immigration","tag-crime","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36785\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}