"Under Governor Spitzer's plan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could have skipped out on his visa and gotten a New York license."
That's what Republican congressional candidate Richard Wager of upstate New York said in a public statement just now. His goal is to get the freshman Democrat in the area, Kirsten Gillibrand, to comment on Eliot Spitzer's proposal, which may not be so popular in Republican-heavy areas like Gillibrand's district.
I emailed Gillibrand's spokeswoman for a response and got a phone call half a second later. "The congress woman is not for illegal immigrants getting New York State licenses," Gillibrand spokeswoman Rachel McEneny said.
Wager's press release:
WAGER CALLS FOR PROTECTION OF 'PRINCIPLED DMV CLERKS' WHO
REFUSE TO GRANT LICENSES TO PERSONS UNKNOWN
Says Clerks Must Not be Forced to Break U.S. Law
Millbrook, NY-Sept. 27… Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) Clerks in New York State who refuse to hand over driver's licenses to people who have entered the U.S. illegally-people who could be coming from anywhere in the world-should not be penalized for their "principled stand on behalf of common sense and American homeland security", said Republican candidate for Congress in New York's 20th District, Richard C. Wager, today.
Mr. Wager further suggested that Governor Spitzer may effectively be forcing the clerks to break federal immigration laws by materially assisting undocumented immigrants.
"These DMV clerks are proud Americans who are refusing to make their nation more vulnerable to terrorist attack," Mr. Wager said. "How can you ask an American to hand over a proven terrorist tool to people they know are not citizens? Under Governor Spitzer's plan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could have skipped out on his visa and gotten a New York license. That's not reform; that's insanity."
Mr. Wager points out that a driver's license in the hands of a terrorist is a potent and multi-functional weapon that can allow its bearer to board airplanes, buy guns, rent trucks and safe houses, wire money from overseas, and enter sensitive government and commercial facilities. He also stressed that the 9/11 Commission expressly urged states to adopt tougher, uniform standards for state-issued driver's licenses after al Qaeda used them to plan and execute the 9/11 attacks.
Mr. Wager spoke out on this issue immediately after Mr. Spitzer's
announcement last week that he would reverse New York State policy and begin issuing driver's licenses to people in this country illegally.
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