The NYCLU's Letter to Mayor Bloomberg -- NYCLU Asks Bloomberg to Support Immigrant Access to Driver’s Licenses

BY FACSIMILE AND FIRST CLASS MAIL

September 27, 2007

Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor, City of New York
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

We write in response to your recent public comments expressing concern about Governor Spitzer’s decision to broaden immigrant access to driver’s licenses, and the impact that the federal Real ID Act will have on New Yorkers’ ability to use their driver’s license to board an airplane. We hope to clarify for you and your staff the relationship between the federal Real ID Act and New York State’s new driver’s license requirements.

The new eligibility requirements for a New York driver’s license do not violate the federal Real ID Act. New Yorkers can continue to use their driver’s license for federal purposes, such as passing security in an airport or entering a federal building.

Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005 in an attempt to federalize state driver’s licenses into a single national database by imposing a broad array of regulations on how they are issued and verified. States that decide to comply with the Act have until January 1, 2010 to finalize the details of their implementation plan. Following May 10, 2013, non-compliant driver’s licenses will no longer be accepted for official federal purposes.

States are not required to implement the Real ID Act, even following the 2013 deadline. In fact, not a single state in the country is currently in compliance with the Real ID Act. On the contrary, seventeen states have already passed legislation opposing the Real ID Act. Seven state legislatures—GA, ME, MT, NH, OK, SC, WA—have passed binding statutes prohibiting the implementation of the Real ID Act in their state. Arguments against implementation of the Act have included concerns over the unfunded financial costs, the fear of widespread discrimination against immigrant communities, as well as privacy and administrative worries. In all likelihood, Congress will revisit the Real ID Act prior to the implementation deadline.

We commend Governor Spitzer for his decision to broaden immigrant access to driver’s licenses. Under the new guidelines, New Yorkers will once again be able to obtain a driver’s license without regard to their immigration status. Governor Spitzer’s decision will provide an immediate fix to the estimated 500,000 New Yorkers who lost their eligibility for a driver’s license in 2002, when then-Governor Pataki revised the requirements for obtaining a driver’s license.

We urge you to express support for Governor Spitzer’s decision, which will not only improve security, but will also bring hundreds of thousands of immigrant New Yorkers out of the shadows and integrated into society. This will lead to greater cooperation and trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement, and improved immigrant access to vital government services.

We also urge you to work with the New York City congressional delegation to seek reform of the Real ID Act. A strong, national bipartisan movement has emerged in opposition to the Real ID Act. Republicans from Missouri, Utah and New Hampshire have joined Democrats from Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Mexico in opposing the Act. Organizations opposing implementation of the Real ID Act range from the American Conservative Union and Gun Owners of America, to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the National Organization for Women.

We urge you, as mayor of a city with millions of immigrants, many of them undocumented, to join this movement by supporting Governor Spitzer’s decision to broaden immigrant access to driver’s licenses, and by expressing opposition to the federal Real ID Act.

Sincerely,

Udi Ofer, Legislative Counsel

Donna Lieberman, Executive Director

Amy Sugimori

Executive Director, La Fuente

On Behalf of NY Coalition for Immigrants’ Rights to Driver’s Licenses (list attached)

cc: Governor Eliot Spitzer

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