Government denies licenses to migrants!

[EvilMonkey]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/n...html?&wired

 

Driver's licenses for migrants? Not in Mexico

Chris Hawley

Republic Mexico City Bureau

Nov. 15, 2007 12:00 AM

 

MEXICO CITY - The question of whether to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants ignited a national debate in the United States. But in Mexico, the largest source of U.S. immigrants, there's no question: Here, you must be a legal resident to get a driver's license.

 

All of Mexico's 31 states, along with Mexico City, require foreigners to present a valid visa if they want a driver's license, according to a survey of states by The Arizona Republic.

 

"When it comes to foreigners, we're a little more strict here," said Alejandro Ruíz, director of education at the Mexican Automobile Association. advertisement

 

Immigrant drivers zoomed into the national spotlight after presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said a move by the New York governor to give licenses to illegal immigrants "makes a lot of sense" during an Oct. 30 debate.

 

On Wednesday, Clinton backed off that plan.

 

Proponents said the plan would have made the roads safer by ensuring that drivers are trained and insured, but the ensuing public outcry forced Gov. Eliot Spitzer to abandon the effort Wednesday.

 

U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., planned to file a bill this week that would bar states from any future attempts to give licenses to illegal immigrants.

 

Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington allow drivers to get licenses without proving they are legal residents, according to the National Immigration Law Center. Most other states, including Arizona, require applicants to prove they are citizens or legal residents.

 

Mexicans make up the bulk of illegal immigrants in the United States, accounting for an estimated 6 million of the 11.5 million undocumented residents as of March 2005, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

 

Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretariat declined to comment on the controversy this week, but the Mexican government has fought U.S. restrictions on licenses in the past.

 

In 2004, the former Mexican consul in New York, Arturo Sarukhan, called such rules "a policy without a purpose" during a hearing in the New York State Assembly.

 

Sarukhan is now the Mexican ambassador in Washington.

 

Yet, licensing offices in all of Mexico's 31 states, along with the Federal District, where Mexico City is located, said they require applicants to prove their citizenship, preferably by showing a federal voter-registration card issued by the Federal Elections Institute.

 

Of those, 28 states and the Federal District said they would issue licenses to foreigners only if they present valid FM-2 or FM-3 residency visas.

 

The central Mexican states of Morelos, Puebla and Guerrero are more lenient. Foreigners there can get a driver's license with a valid tourist visa, or FMT.

 

Tourist visas are issued by federal immigration agents at airports and border crossing points.

 

Foreign tourists who are in Mexico temporarily can also drive using their foreign licenses, states said. Most U.S. states, including Arizona, have a similar exemption for temporary visitors.

 

Mexican officials said the application rules are strictly enforced, especially in southern states that have a problem with illegal immigrants from Central America.

 

"Last week a man came here (with a tourist visa) and said he was working as a deliveryman," said Denia Gurgua, manager of the driver's license office in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of the southern state of Chiapas.

 

She said she denied him a license because he did not have a visa to work in Mexico.

 

"Our constitution has certain restrictions for foreigners," she said.

 

U.S. proponents of tougher restrictions worry that having a driver's license helps legitimize illegal immigrants, making it harder to detect and remove them.

 

"The fact that all 31 states in Mexico would have such a common-sense position . . . shows to me a certain hypocrisy on the part of the Mexican government, because they are constantly criticizing those of us in Congress who want immigration laws to be tougher up here," said King of New York.

 

But immigrant advocates says the two countries don't compare. U.S. states are trying to protect other motorists from millions of illegal immigrants who are already driving, said Tyler Moran, an expert on driver's licenses at the National Immigration Law Center.

 

Mexico's pool of foreign residents is much smaller, about 492,000 people in a country of 105 million, according to the 2000 census.

 

"It may be a bit like comparing apples and oranges," Moran said. "The (U.S. states) are dealing in reality, and it's better public policy to have people actually have licenses, have identification, have insurance than not."

[Texsox]

We should follow Mexico's leads. They did not authorize a border wall, so we shouldn't either. They also ban guns, so we should also. Who cares what is best of the US, we need to pattern our laws after Mexico's laws. Clearly they are a great role model for us.

[EvilMonkey]

As usual, you are so way over the top it almost isn't humorous. Your point is noted. But don't you find something just a little odd about a country that b****es constantly that we should let their immingrants into our country restriction free, but yet goes to Tex-like extremes at keeping immigrants OUT of their country, including using the military on their southern border? I always spell this wrong, but hypocracy comes to mind.

[Texsox]

As usual, you are so way over the top it almost isn't humorous. Your point is noted. But don't you find something just a little odd about a country that b****es constantly that we should let their immingrants into our country restriction free, but yet goes to Tex-like extremes at keeping immigrants OUT of their country, including using the military on their southern border? I always spell this wrong, but hypocracy comes to mind.

 

I find it odd that anyone would think that the laws of the US and a third world country should be the same. Each country has different needs, different budgets. In Mexico, maquiladoras (manufacturing plants) are required to provide transportation, a Doctor, and meals. It's what they need, it would not work in the US. One could say the US is hypocritical for providing foreign aid like food and medicine but will not enact laws to provide the same for their own workers.

[southsider2k5]

Calderon is a racist who only cares about himself. That is the only justification he has for calling out out the safety of one set of people while doing the exact samething to another race of people. He is a hypocrite who doesn't deserve the US to listen to him at all. If he is really worried about his people, he should take the necesary steps to take care of them, instead of encouraging them to risk their lives to solve his problems.

[EvilMonkey]

I find it odd that anyone would think that the laws of the US and a third world country should be the same. Each country has different needs, different budgets. In Mexico, maquiladoras (manufacturing plants) are required to provide transportation, a Doctor, and meals. It's what they need, it would not work in the US. One could say the US is hypocritical for providing foreign aid like food and medicine but will not enact laws to provide the same for their own workers.

I never said they should all be the same. Are you saying they should all be different?

[YASNY]

I find it odd that anyone would think that the laws of the US and a third world country should be the same. Each country has different needs, different budgets. In Mexico, maquiladoras (manufacturing plants) are required to provide transportation, a Doctor, and meals. It's what they need, it would not work in the US. One could say the US is hypocritical for providing foreign aid like food and medicine but will not enact laws to provide the same for their own workers.

 

I find it odd that the leader of another nation should have any say so about our nations immigration policies and discussion of those policies among our candidates.

[southsider2k5]

I find it odd that the leader of another nation should have any say so about our nations immigration policies and discussion of those policies among our candidates.

 

I wonder what Calderon would say if we decided that they could continue sending their poor here, but we were going to send them a bill for it?

[EvilMonkey]

I find it odd that the leader of another nation should have any say so about our nations immigration policies and discussion of those policies among our candidates.

BINGO!

[Texsox]

I find it odd that the leader of another nation should have any say so about our nations immigration policies and discussion of those policies among our candidates.

 

Which is why I always protested the CIA getting involved in elections around the world. Or we would press foreign countries for more favorable trade policies.

[YASNY]

Which is why I always protested the CIA getting involved in elections around the world. Or we would press foreign countries for more favorable trade policies.

 

Yes. the CIA should stay out of that crap too. As far as trade goes, isn't that just financial dealings? We shouldn't negotiate on a financial basis with other nations?

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

I wonder what Calderon would say if we decided that they could continue sending their poor here, but we were going to send them a bill for it?

 

 

One thing we could do immediately is subtract money used for services for these criminals and distribute it to the states that paid that money out. That or use it to fund border security efforts.

[Texsox]

Yes. the CIA should stay out of that crap too. As far as trade goes, isn't that just financial dealings? We shouldn't negotiate on a financial basis with other nations?

 

We shouldn't fund campaigns in other countries based on trade policies. We have done this privately and publicly. The US meddles in foreign campaigns more than any other country, mostly because we have the resources to.

 

Earlier someone criticized a US candidate for not knowing about health care in Cuba and his opinion. We'll ask our leaders how will the elections in XYZ country effect relationships between them and the US, which candidate is pro-US, etc. Yet when it is in reverse, that a foreign leader is asked about US elections, which will effect the entire world, the foreign leader should not have an opinion?

[YASNY]

We shouldn't fund campaigns in other countries based on trade policies. We have done this privately and publicly. The US meddles in foreign campaigns more than any other country, mostly because we have the resources to.

 

Earlier someone criticized a US candidate for not knowing about health care in Cuba and his opinion. We'll ask our leaders how will the elections in XYZ country effect relationships between them and the US, which candidate is pro-US, etc. Yet when it is in reverse, that a foreign leader is asked about US elections, which will effect the entire world, the foreign leader should not have an opinion?

 

That's entirely correct. The foriegn leader shouldn't tell us how to run our country and we shouldn't get involved in other nation's internal affairs. In fact, I am becomeing more and more isolationist as time goes on.

Edited November 16, 2007 by YASNY