For illegal immigrants looking to obtain "documentation" here in the U.S., getting a driver's license in Maine is a good place to start, according to WMTW. Back in March, Brazilian Guilherme Malaquias, whose tourist visa expired almost two years ago, drove another Brazilian illegal immigrant from Massachusetts up to Biddeford, Maine, where they were arrested after attempting to obtain a drivers license. But wait, there's more: According to the Bangor Daily News, a federal immigration agent claims Malaquias has allegedly transported other illegal immigrants on day trips from Massachusetts to Maine to get licenses. The Biddeford case is similar to one that transpired last month, when Anderson Dos Santos, a Brazilian from New Jersey, was arrested at the motor vehicle bureau in Augusta after he allegedly brought two women to Maine to get driver's licenses. Dos Santos told court officials that "Maine is known among Brazilians for having lax rules for issuing drivers licenses." Maine requires neither proof of citizenship nor proof of residency from applicants, but the state legislature is "considering" the idea of changing the rules to require proof of residency. Little wonder that the Feds are "pushing" Maine to conform to the Real ID Act of 2005, which establishes new national standards for state-issued driver licenses.
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South Carolina is another state with easy license requirements. Cops could hold these people under suspicion when they stop them but sanctuary policies preclude that.
Real ID is just another fed power grab. The states regulate drivers licenses and they should continue to do so. If the citizens of Maine want stricter licenses they can vote for a state politicians who support that. If the feds want a mandatory national ID system then they can make their case for it in the open rather than trying to implement it via the back door and trampling on states rights.
Nice to see that at least one state isn’t easily giving in to the totalitarian national ID.
I live in Maine. Up until only a couple of years ago the “new” licenses one got at the Maine DMV were the old laminated kind that we all made fake IDs from back in the early 90s. It took the state a very long time to introduce a newer license with appropriate anti-counterfeiting devices.
I heard on the radio today that Gov. Baldacci had until 5 PM today to present a plan to close the loopholes described in this article. He’ll be doing so, although to whom is a good question.
So what if the laws are lax? Hopefully they at least have to provide proof of insurance. I’d rather deal with insured, licensed illegal immigrant drivers than uninsured, unlicensed ones.
TN is another lax state.
I’m remain confused as to why we have all these anti-terrorist laws and plans yet nobody is guarding the border effectively?
Another good example is this situation:
http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080321/NEWS01/80321015
Though the defendant is surely Mexican, I would have guessed that being illegal, false papers and carrying weapons would have been a sure fire way to get locked up for a long time. Yet the judges slap the wrists of the police officer.
The same guy could have likely gotten a license both before this incident and after.
I grew up and went to college in Maine and can vouch for salhany’s observation on fake ids. If Maine does not conform or get a waiver to REAL ID compliance, their residents will not be able to get on a plane using a Maine drivers license starting May 11 under new Homeland security rules. The REAL ID deadline was march 31. There were a dozen states on the list..supposedly only Maine remains and Chertoff has extended the deadline to 5:00 pm wednesday
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39668&dcn=todaysnews
Addtional info here as well
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080331/NEWS/80331020/-1/NEWS21
The same people bitching about Real ID as a power grab were the ones bitching about how half the 9/11 hijackers had fake NJ driver’s licenses with Social Security number 999-99-9999.
Either we have a secure national ID card, or we have a loophole ridden 50 state ID system, Choose One.
“Real ID is just another fed power grab.” No, national defense (i.e., homeland security) is an obligation imposed by the Constitution on the federal government. It’d be nice if Maine would cooperate.
“I’d rather deal with insured, licensed illegal immigrant drivers.” Good luck finding one. The way it works here is, they go to an insurance agent for a policy with the premiums paid monthly. They get the insurance card, show it to obtain a tag, then cancel the policy (assuming the first month’s premium wasn’t paid with a bogus check). Why buy insurance if you’re driving a beater, have little money to be sued for, and can easily skip to another state and get a new identity?
“I remain confused as to why we have all these anti-terrorist laws and plans yet nobody is guarding the border effectively?” Well, one reason is some people think there should be more illegal aliens in the U.S.
I am sympathetic to the privacy folks, but I really can’t get the anti-identification thing. Would a single card be really that more oppressive than the several forms of id we need to have to get things done now?
Anyone who wants to do something about illegal immigration should join numbersusa.com. They have alerts when legislation comes up; and all you have to do is click, and letters get faxed to your rep and/or senators.
There’s an update to this story HERE. :-)