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After more than three hours of debate, the House of Representatives has voted to overturn the controversial state law that allows foreign nationals to obtain New Mexico driver’s licenses, regardless of whether they are in the country legally.

ESCONDIDO, Calif. - Delfino Aldama was fixing a customer's brakes this month when his smartphone chimed with a text message that tipped him to a police checkpoint more than an hour before officers began stopping motorists. The self-employed auto mechanic frantically called friends with the location and drove an alternate route home

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Nevada say Brown was a front-line clerk at the DMV office on Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas. Authorities say she used third parties to recruit customers who didn’t have identifying documents, and typically charged $1,500 to $3,000 for each license

A bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown this week stops police from impounding the cars of sober but unlicensed drivers caught at DUI checkpoints. The law, which goes into effect in January, will bring relief to illegal immigrants, who are prohibited from obtaining a California driver’s license. They live in fear of losing their cars at checkpoints, said Luz Gallegos, of the Perris-based TODEC Legal Center, which assists Latino immigrants. “It’s a great victory for all of our communities and a great blessing,” Gallegos said of AB 353, which was sponsored by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo , D-Los Angeles. Assemblyman Tim...

SNIPPET: "Dan Folk (21), an Israeli who was invited to the event in which over 100 students took part, ended up getting a business card and memento from Ahmadinejad. "It was at his hotel in Manhattan, we got there and had to wait in the security check line for nearly an hour," said the student, adding, "we gave them our cell phones and any kind of camera we were carrying. During the security check I showed them my Israeli driver's license and the Iranian security officer smiled at me." Folk said he had mixed feelings over the question of whether...

More than 100 religious leaders from around New Mexico have submitted an open letter to state legislators in support of a state law that lets those illegally in the country get New Mexico driver's licenses.

A bill loaded with immigration politics and potential implications for highway safety has landed on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk. The legislation by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would change police procedures at drunken-driving checkpoints, prohibiting officers from arresting drivers and immediately impounding their cars if their only offense is not having a license. Supporters say the bill, AB353, would impose a consistent policy statewide - some agencies confiscate unlicensed drivers' cars now, and some do not - while keeping DUI checkpoints from being turned into traps for otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants who cannot obtain licenses. "In most parts of California,...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Churches and religious groups opposing the governor's renewed push to repeal a law allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses say their actions are part of a larger and growing advocacy effort aimed at promoting immigration reform on moral grounds. Organizations like the New Mexico Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Albuquerque Interfaith were among those in Santa Fe this week to protest Gov. Susana Martinez's efforts to rescind the state law. They argue the measure helps one of the state's most vulnerable populations. For months, these coalitions of interfaith groups have called on their members to attend rallies...

The Foreign Ministry says the government and the U.S. state of Texas have signed a memorandum of understanding for the mutual recognition of driving licenses in each others’ territories. The two sides on Friday agreed to mutually recognize nonprofit driving licenses held by citizens and residents of both sides. Texas is the fifth American state with which Seoul signed the agreement, after Maryland, Virginia, Washington and Massachusetts. A ministry official said that the agreement will bring great benefit to South Koreans staying in or visiting to Texas, adding the government will continue to make efforts to ensure that South Korean...

DARTMOUTH — The Massachusetts driver's license had the typical hologram, watermarks and barcode. A scanning machine told the cashier at Town Liquors that the license was legitimate, so the customer was "OK to purchase" liquor. Only one problem, though — the license was fake. "It was an absolutely amazing ID. It was very well done," said Yogi Patel, owner of Town Liquors, located less than a mile from the UMass Dartmouth campus. For about $200, someone today can upload his or her picture and basic information into a website, and receive two fake IDs a few days later from companies...

John H. Gass hadn’t had a traffic ticket in years, so the Natick resident was surprised this spring when he received a letter from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles informing him to cease driving because his license had been revoked. “I was shocked,’’ Gass said in a recent interview. “As far as I was concerned, I had done nothing wrong.’’ After frantic calls and a hearing with Registry officials, Gass learned the problem: An antiterrorism computerized facial recognition system that scans a database of millions of state driver’s license images had picked his as a possible fraud. It turned...

As the House early last month debated a must-pass finance bill, one member slipped in language that puts into law a controversial Texas Department of Public Safety policy requiring driver's license applicants to show they're in the country legally. The amendment, added by Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, to the education funding bill legislators needed to balance the state budget had originally been included in Senate Bill 9, the so-called "sanctuary cities" bill that failed in the special session. It also had appeared in an omnibus homeland security bill by Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, that died in the regular session....

http://www.koat.com/r/27113564/detail.html

ATLANTA -- A state lawmaker from Marietta is sponsoring a bill that seeks to do away with Georgia driver's licenses. State Rep. Bobby Franklin, R-Marietta, has filed House Bill 7, calling it the "Right to Travel Act." In his bill, Franklin states, "Free people have a common law and constitutional right to travel on the roads and highways that are provided by their government for that purpose. Licensing of drivers cannot be required of free people, because taking on the restrictions of a license requires the surrender of an inalienable right." Franklin told CBS Atlanta News that driver's licenses are...

ATLANTA -- A state lawmaker from Marietta is sponsoring a bill that seeks to do away with Georgia driver's licenses. State Rep. Bobby Franklin, R-Marietta, has filed House Bill 7, calling it the "Right to Travel Act." In his bill, Franklin states, "Free people have a common law and constitutional right to travel on the roads and highways that are provided by their government for that purpose. Licensing of drivers cannot be required of free people, because taking on the restrictions of a license requires the surrender of an inalienable right." Franklin told CBS Atlanta News that driver's licenses are...

SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico’s newly elected Gov. Susana Martinez has come out swinging with a budget proposal that would cut spending and close the budget deficit without raising taxes or making cuts to classroom spending or health care for New Mexico’s most vulnerable. Martinez also stated one of her first priorities is to revoke driver licenses issued to illegal aliens, pointing out since Arizona passed SB 1070, illegal aliens have been pouring in to New Mexico, which does not require proof of citizenship to obtain licenses.

SOUTH CHARLESTON - Pay increases for educators, adding five or 10 minutes to a school day and a bill that one West Virginia senator thinks would encourage families to understand the importance of education are among the suggestions leaders in their fields believe could lead education reform in the state. State Sen. Erik Wells, D-7th District, plans to introduce a bill during the upcoming legislative session, which begins Wednesday, that would revoke the driver's licenses of parents whose children miss too many days of school. Although Wells said he won't bet it will be one of the approximately 200 bills...

A friend called me yesterday to report what she had experienced while getting her driver's license renewed. A woman before her was wearing a hijab and there was no problem, they didn't make her remove it to get her photo taken. But when my friend was getting her photo taken, the lady taking the photo told her she would have to get her bangs off her forehead in order for the photo to be taken...it was Homeland Security rules. My friend raised the question about the woman with the hijab, but no explanation was made, just the fact reiterated that...

BURIEN, Wash. (AP) — Carlos Hernandez packed up his family and left Arizona after the state passed its sweeping immigration crackdown. The illegal immigrant's new home outside Seattle offered something Arizona could not: a driver's license. Three states — Washington, New Mexico and Utah — allow illegal immigrants to get licenses because their laws do not require proof of citizenship or legal residency. An Associated Press analysis found that those states have seen a surge in immigrants seeking IDs in recent months, a trend experts attribute to crackdowns on illegal immigration in Arizona and elsewhere.

FReep This Poll! DMV Pictures Should the DMV have the right to ask people to remove religious clothing for their driver's license photos? Yes No Go to the link provided on this post. Scroll down a bit on the Fox 5 San Diego homepage and look for the poll on the right hand side right above "Chrissy's Outfit of the Day" Vote your choice.

Some Georgians could soon be carrying a unique driver’s license – one that says they have post-traumatic stress disorder. Lawmakers recently passed legislation that would allow current and former military to request the PTSD designation on their driver’s licenses. The legislation, which has to be signed by the governor to become law, would likely make Georgia the first state with a driver’s license that denotes a specific health problem, other than poor eyesight.Some veterans and law enforcement officials say they can’t image that many servicemen and servicewomen will want their PTSD diagnosis put on display when they present their driver’s...

There’s a bit of a mystery that may not have been brought up before regarding Obama’s Illinois driver’s license record.This is BHO’s Illinois driver’s license abstract: In addition to showing Obama’s Illinois driver’s license number, O150-0686-1221-0, it does show a clean record. But what’s with the “Cont. Lic. Date” of 8-19-96? The date seems to be when he first applied for his Illinois Driver’s License, which he held consistently through its expiration date of 8-4-08. Some background:Obama first moved to Chicago in 1985 and may have used some mass transit occasionally as a Community Organizer. Obama began attending Harvard...

Note: The following text is a quote: Eighteen Charged Following Multi-Year Fraud Investigation Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a federal grand jury returned a 23-count indictment charging 18 defendants with violating federal laws following a multi-year investigation into fraud relating to identification documents. Named in the Indictment are the following individuals: Vitaly Fedorchuk, 30 , of Parma, OH; Pavlo Mostranskyy aka Pasha, 45, of North Royalton, OH Sonya Hilaszek, 45, of Cleveland, OH Azamjon Asadov, 34, of Cincinnati, OH; Martynas Bojarcius, 29, of Palatine, IL; Jaroslav Wladyka aka Bohdan Borsuk,...

Well, the day finally came for me to actually be a first-hand witness of why knowing and understanding English is so vitally important when one gets a driver's license. My Florida license expires next month and I will be on tour so renewing it in Florida will be impossible. So I decided to finally get a Tennessee license although I still claim Florida as my legal domicile. I gathered my official documents as required by the state of Tennessee for anyone getting a TN license for the first time. It was a busy day at the DMV (when isn't it...

Opposition is growing to legislation that would weaken some of the restrictions to the Real ID act, a law that resulted from a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission to prevent identification fraud. The PASS ID bill, which is supported by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, eliminates security measures included in the Real ID Act, which required verification of birth certificates, Social Security numbers and immigration status before someone could get a driver's license that could be used as an identification card for federal purposes such as boarding an airplane. The purposed of the REAL ID act was to prevent...

Interpretations of Driving Law Vary Thousands of illegal immigrants in Maryland have been scrambling in recent weeks in last-ditch attempts to get driver's licenses before a law curtailing their privileges takes effect Monday. But for many, the effort will have been a waste of time, caused by confusion and conflicting interpretations over how the new rules work. When the window shuts at the close of business today, they will discover that learner's permits and state-issued identification cards they obtained can't be converted to licenses, as they thought. "There's no question there's mass confusion," said Kim Propeack of CASA of Maryland,...

Few places in Virginia are as draining to the soul and as numbing to the buttocks as the branch offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles. And yet, until recently, smiling was still permitted there. No more. As part of the DMV's effort to develop super-secure driver's licenses and foolproof identification cards, the agency has issued a smile ban, directing customers to adopt a "neutral expression" in their portraits, thereby extinguishing whatever happiness comes with finally hearing one's number called. The driver's license photo, it seems, is destined to look like a mug shot. DMV officials say the smile ban...

The 9/11 Commission made the case that state driver's licenses need to become a more secure cre­dential. Congress acted--twice, passing laws to establish national standards. Now this common-sense initiative is under attack and may never be implemented. Congress and the Administration must act decisively to make the REAL ID program a reality. They need a strategy that encourages states with the capac­ity to implement REAL ID to do so quickly, demonstrating its viabil­ity and value. Once REAL ID is underway, momentum will build for other states to join; their citi­zens will not want to be left out of a...

<p>MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A federal magistrate Wednesday ordered that a man accused of trying to board a plane with $44,000 in cash and nine blank passports be held without bail.</p> <p>The man, identified by federal authorities as Ousman Sillah, faces charges of possessing fake identification and legitimate identification to be used fraudulently.</p>

In an online Spanish language chat room, people from all along the East Coast seek tips on how to get a driver's license in Maryland, though they don't live in Maryland. Businesses run classified ads in Spanish-language publications in the District, Virginia and Maryland urging "undocumented Hispanic friends" to take advantage of the opportunity to get a Maryland ID without having to prove they are in the country legally.

A St. Cloud lawmaker says he has changed his bill that would have barred all headwear in driver's license photos to allow for religious headwear. Rep. Steve Gottwalt says his new bill is a compromise between public safety and cultural respect. The Republican introduced a bill in 2007 and again this year that would have banned all headwear in driver's license photos to make them easier for law enforcement to use.

A St. Cloud lawmaker says a bill that would ban any kind of headwear in a driver's license photo is a matter of public safety. But some Muslims say they have a religious right to cover their heads. State Rep. Steve Gottwalt says banning headwear would make it easier for law enforcement to identify people and it would make it fair for everyone. But Suban Khalif says Muslim women wear a head scarf nearly 24 hours a day as part of their religion, and taking it off — even for a few minutes — is a big deal. Khalif and...

Privacy advocates are issuing warnings about a new radio chip plan that ultimately could provide electronic identification for every adult in the U.S. and allow agents to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies simply by walking through the assembly. The proposal, which has earned the support of Janet Napolitano, the newly chosen chief of the Department of Homeland Security, would embed radio chips in driver's licenses, or "enhanced driver's licenses." "Enhanced driver's licenses give confidence that the person holding the card is the person who is supposed to be holding the card, and it's less elaborate than REAL ID," Napolitano...

Privacy advocates are issuing warnings about a new radio chip plan that ultimately could provide electronic identification for every adult in the U.S. and allow agents to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies simply by walking through the assembly. The proposal, which has earned the support of Janet Napolitano, the newly chosen chief of the Department of Homeland Security , would embed radio chips in driver's licenses, or "enhanced driver's licenses." "Enhanced driver's licenses give confidence that the person holding the card is the person who is supposed to be holding the card, and it's less elaborate than REAL ID,"...

Removing All Doubt Obama Would Cede Southwest to Mexico American Patrol Report -- December 19 "We are all Americans, whether you are legalized or not" Anyone who still doubts that Barack Obama is determined to grant de-facto amnesty to millions of illegal aliens should explain to the rest of us why he picked Hilda Solis to be Secretary of Labor. A long-time supporter of la Reconquista, the Mexican takeover of the American Southwest, Solis is also a leader in the movement to silence Americans who speaks out against the invasion, specifically Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly. At a...

An Egyptian national who was in the country illegally told authorities he came to New Mexico because he heard it was the easiest place to get a driver's license, according to a sheriff's department report. New Mexico is one of the states that don't require proof of U.S. citizenship to obtain a driver's license. Karim Shaaban Kassem Ibrahim, who is now facing charges of forgery and identity theft, came to the attention of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department after he applied for a job at Talin Enterprises, a grocery store at Louisiana SE. He applied using the identity of Rami...

It starts with two simple words - "El Tio" or "The Uncle" in English. It's the password that opens the door to a new identity. After receiving a tip from a viewer, CBS 11 News went undercover in Northwest Dallas, along Harry Hines Boulevard to document an elaborate fake ID ring. We sent a CBS 11 employee, undercover, to the location. He asked about getting a Texas ID card and was directed to "El Tio." The employee was then taken across the street to a boot store to have his picture taken. He handed over $20 as an up front...

Message from The National Republican Trust PAC From Scott Wheeler Executive Director Dear Supporter: There he goes again! I appeared on Fox News with Neil Cavuto Friday discussing our new TV ad exposing Obama's radical plan to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens -- and Neil said the Obama campaign refused to come on the show. No surprise here. They are deathly afraid of this issue. But Cavuto did say that Obama campaign now claims that he does not support driver's licenses for illegals. Cavuto mentioned that Fox's own research showed Obama's claim was simply not true. Of course, it's...

Link to video "Obama's Plan: Driver's Licenses for Illegals"It's not that you didn't know this already, but perhaps it's time for a reminder! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbyocX-9_mo

Immigrant advocates and some politicians in South Texas were flummoxed with the handling and timing of a state agency’s move to bar unauthorized immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses — a move some predict will boost the number of unlicensed and uninsured drivers on Texas roads. Labeling the policy change as sudden, rash and possibly dubious, they began mobilizing Thursday to try to find out how it all came about. The new rule requires noncitizens to prove they are in the country legally before they are issued a new license, renew an existing one or apply for a state identification card....

Mexican truck drivers allowed to travel throughout the U.S. under a Bush administration demonstration project may not be proficient in English, despite Department of Transportation assurances to the contrary. A brochure on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website instructs Mexican truck drivers, "Did you know … You MUST be able to read and speak English to drive trucks in the United States." Still, at the Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing Tuesday, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and DOT Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel III reluctantly admitted under intense questioning from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., that Mexican drivers were being...

Trinity graduate has family history of schizophrenia "Voices" in the head of an award-winning Irish computer science graduate told him to rob a bank, it was claimed yesterday. Niall Clarke (27) was suffering from schizophrenia when he carried out a botched bank raid in Maine, a mental illness also suffered by his grandmother, said his solicitor yesterday. The brilliant Trinity graduate from Kilrush in Co Clare was sentenced to almost 10 years in prison earlier this week after the 2006 robbery of the Bangor Bank of America. "He was hearing voices that the bank had to be robbed. He said...

Reported by: Joyce Peterson Email: jpeterson@myeyewitnessnews.com Last Update: 2/26 6:29 am Trucking Company Says It Is Not The Focus of Federal Investigation Documents seized during a raid on two truck driving schools and a Driver’s License Bureau. Memphis, TN - Federal and state agents raided two Mid-South truck driving schools and a Memphis driver's license center on February 25, 2008. Both schools, one on Brooks Road in Memphis, and the other on Veterans Parkway in Millington, are operated by Swift Transportation. The state run license center on Shelby Drive in Whitehaven was also targeted in the investigation. The FBI confirms...

WASHINGTON – Two more Iraqis with false Bulgarian passports were detained by Mexican officials in Monterrey – bringing the total to four this month. Wisam Gorgies, a 34-year-old man, and Rana Nazar Peyoz, a 26-year-old woman, reportedly flew from Madrid and landed in Monterrey, according to reports in two Mexican newspapers today. Following questioning, the pair admitted they intended to reach the United States. They were taken to Saltillo in the state of Coahuila, for final determination of their status. Mexican officials said the are investigating "a network that could be made up of Mexicans operating in Greece who are...

Deadline's up to make sure BMV, Social Security records match. The The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles says it will revoke the driver's licenses of up to 56,000 people across the state in coming weeks. They are among the 206,000 people who had received letters in November saying the information on their licenses didn't match Social Security records. Thursday was the deadline to fix the mismatched data -- be it their name, gender, date of birth or Social Security number. The whole effort -- a comparison of the BMV's 6.4 million records with those of Social Security -- had raised...

ICE arrests six illegal aliens in continuation of document fraud case Arrests are related to criminal prosecutions for illegal use of Puerto Rican ID Georgetown, Delaware - Late Monday afternoon special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 6 illegal aliens residing in the Sussex County area as part of a continuing document fraud investigation. The investigation, which started last year, involves the illegal sale and use of valid Puerto Rican birth certificates and associated Social Security cards. The sale and use of these valid identity documents present an obvious national security and public safety concern, because the documents...

It appears Maryland will sit out the state rebellion against the federal Real ID program. Gov. Martin O'Malley's announcement last week that the Motor Vehicle Administration will comply with the costly and controversial program is unfortunate but not entirely unexpected. As recently as last month, MVA officials had been floating the idea of a two-tiered approach to driver's licenses that would create one that met federal security standards and one that didn't require so-called proof of legal presence. But no doubt the negative reaction given New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's similar proposal (from which he eventually backed down) had something...

There are a few scenes in classic movies that are so effective that the dialogue has passed into the common language. One of those is in The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Mexican bandits have confronted American gold miners, including Humphrey Bogart. The bandits claim to be federal police. Challenged to produce their badges, one gives the memorable reply, “Badges? We don’t need no steenkin’ badges.” And then they begin shooting. Well a situation began in New Jersey, then played out in the Court of Appeals of Maryland, which justifies the modified use of that line. It also should concern all...

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan's attorney general says illegal immigrants can no longer get a state driver's license. Mike Cox's legal opinion overrules an opinion written in 1995 by former Attorney General Frank Kelley. Michigan is one of a handful of states in which illegal immigrants have been able to get driver's licenses. But Cox says people who aren't lawfully in the U.S. can't be residents of Michigan for the purposes of obtaining a driver's license. The opinion released Thursday may bolster efforts to create a new Michigan driver's license and state identification card. Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land...

The hugeness of the defeat of Spitzer's efforts to grant licenses to illegals is having national repercussions - Oregon's governor is now changing his tune. This article was very enlightening, but more work needs to be done