N.Y. to issue driving licenses for illegal immigrants

New York State officials say a plan to provide driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants with valid foreign passports will enhance security by creating records of their identities. But critics say those records could compromise security instead.

New York has between 500,000 and 1 million undocumented immigrants, many of whom drive without licenses and car insurance or with fake licenses, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said in announcing the plan. He said it would bring “people out of the shadows” into American society.

“They no longer need to hide and pretend they are not here,” Spitzer said. “We will not become part of what is propagated on the federal level — that if we don’t admit they are here, then we can somehow not provide services. That is bad policy.”

The shift in policy is geared toward increasing security and reducing insurance premiums for all New York drivers by an anticipated total of $120 million a year, said state Motor Vehicles Commissioner David Swarts.