Posted on 01/29/2006 2:53:52 PM PST by citizen
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee's driving certificate for illegal immigrants isn't valid as a form of ID, but people are paying hundreds of dollars on the black market and traveling hundreds of miles to get one.
Tennessee has issued more than 51,000 certificates since it became the first state to offer them in July 2004, but not every certificate has gone to someone living there.
Two major federal arrests in recent months exposed shuttles bringing South and Central American immigrants from as far away as New Jersey to state licensing centers in Knoxville, where the immigrants got certificates using fake residency papers.
Last week, a third sweep revealed an alleged conspiracy in which prosecutors say state license examiners in Murfreesboro, outside Nashville, accepted bribes to provide illegal immigrants with driver's licenses and certificates without testing.
"We have seen individuals coming to Tennessee to take advantage of the driver's certificate program because they are easy to obtain," said acting U.S. Attorney Russ Dedrick.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Although the words "not valid for identification" appear in bold red letters on the face of the wallet-size certificates, Dedrick said banks accept them as legal ID and they "can easily be passed off for other types of identification documents."
------------Just another example that we are dealing with criminals -- both the Illegals and the corrupt Tennessee license workers accepting bribes to pass out the driver's licenses to the Illegals.-------------
Can I get me a driver's license here?
Katherine Smith ping.
Still, the allure of payoffs to underpaid license examiners may only increase as requirements tighten and certificates become more precious...
Lock them up for a LONG time and those payoffs won't look so good.
Well states rights and all in the perfect world we'd like to keep the feds out of matters like handing out drivers licenses but I really wish all 50 states would get with the program. Illegals shouldn't be getting the darn things period.
I don't see why not. How's your Spanish?
I remember the story about the woman who was selling driver's licenses to terrorist types over near Memphis not too long after 9/11. She was found dead in her burned up car. These idiots who deal with these kind of people for a few extra bucks need to see that getting caught is perhaps the least of their risk because when their customers want them shut up, they don't screw around about it.
Yeah, and if they are studying the Tennessee licensing program as a possible guideline for implementing the Real ID act, well I say the Tennessee program is the way NOT to do it.
Lock up the Tennessee corrupt workers/officials for a long stretch on top of a big fine.
I remember that, she was to testify against those transporting NY State Illegals to Tennessee to get the licenses. The car supposedly blew up on contact but was only going a few miles/hour and was hardly damaged.
....and was hardly damaged.
Hardly damaged from the impact, that is.
I don't see why not. How's your Spanish?
About as good as John Kerry's Middle American. ("Can I get me a hunting license here?")
LOL! and FnKerry wants to do it all over again, be the new Stevenson for the Dimocrats
Thanks for the ping!
A friend just showed me his brand new driver's license....it was a CA one, he has lived in NY for years now, but when he needed to renew his license CA was happy to do it by mail to him in NY. ??? Are they nuts?
i Need a spanish ID can i GO to Tennesea ? ??
I'm all for states rights and limiting the reach of the fed. government but what do we do with these rogue states that want to legalize these drivers? These Tennessee licenses for the Illegals plainly say "Not For Identification" but they are being accepted by most everyone as an actual ID card.
The Real ID act must be implemented with a national database & a biometric, tamper proof ID card is the only solution I can see. No legal U.S. identification means no license of any kind, no benefits of any kind in any state.
Terrorists won't be able to move so freely without a Real ID type of identification. And monitor the whereabouts of visa holders, too. Those that overstay must be found and expelled. No exceptions.
Wow! Is that the actual ID?
It's impossible to miss the "NOT VALID FOR I.D." but still merchants, banks, etc. are using them for ID according to the article.
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