New Mexico House panel to hold hearing on proposal to end driver's licenses for illegal immigrants
SANTA FE, N.M. — Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her allies face a tough first test in the Legislature over their proposal to stop New Mexico from granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
The House Labor and Human Resources Committee is to consider the governor's proposal on Thursday and it's expected to encounter strong opposition at the first hearing on the issue during this year's legislative session.
The panel's five Democrats, who account for a majority of the votes, opposed a similar bill last year that passed the House but failed later in the Senate.
The legislation will prohibit the state from granting licenses to illegal immigrants. However, it continues to allow licenses for foreign nationals in the country legally, such as students with visa.
Read more: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/1e512343a87e4901b7ab2516333deb3b/US--Immigrant-Licenses/
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"This issue has drawn national attention and it has made one thing very clear: The current law must be strengthened to include provisions that clearly address the flaws. Repealing the law and forcing a fraction of the driving population to go without proper licensing, registration or insurance puts New Mexican families at risk," the Senate Democratic caucus said in a written statement.
Democrats who oppose the governor's proposal are pushing alternatives. The Senate approved a Democratic-backed measure last year that would have increased penalties on license fraud, required fingerprinting of immigrants seeking a license and canceled current licenses of foreign nationals that weren't renewed within two years — allowing the state to verify whether a foreign national remained a New Mexico resident.
The big difference in New Mexico is that the legislature is not controlled by republicans. If New Mexico's legislature was republican, Martinez would be imitating other republican-controlled states like Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and going for the "tougher than thou" immigration legislation. Let's hope the Democrats in New Mexico will continue to fight the good fight.
They are introducing responsible legislation to fix the problems that exist now, but thankfully do not want to force "a fraction of the driving population to go without proper licensing, registration or insurance". I'm sure the teabaggers will call them "illegal"-lovers. 
