Charles R. Smith
Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2003

New California ID Law Opens Door to Terror and Crime

The driver's license is the ID of choice for almost all Americans. You can obtain a checking account, open a credit card account, buy airline tickets, cross international borders and purchase guns with a standard U.S. driver’s license.

This will all change shortly, however, because of California politics. Gov. Gray Davis recently signed legislation that allows illegal immigrants to obtain California driver's licenses using a Mexican ID called a "consular" identification or matricula card.

According to a wide variety of officials and experts, the California law is a threat to U.S. national security.

"I think this decision by California, like the matricula consular decisions being taken by a number of states, local governments and even some federal facilities, amounts to a disaster for our efforts to provide increased homeland security," stated Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy.

"In fact, I would go so far as to say that we can forget about usefully tightening up border crossings, monitoring our ports and airspace, improving the robustness of our infrastructure to cyber attacks, etc. – all things we should be urgently doing – if we are going to allow illegal aliens to establish, at will, new identities and effectively legal status in this country," stated Gaffney.

Mexican Consular ID

The change by California is forcing government and businesses across the nation to re-evaluate the value of a driver's license. Thirteen states currently accept Mexican consular identification cards for issuing driver's licenses. The states are Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

However, the Mexican consular ID is also freely available in illegal forms. Fox News recently announced that they had acquired Mexican consular ID cards available on the streets of New York City for a single payment of $90.

According to an article published in the LA Times, the U.S. Homeland Security administration is considering a major change in policy. That change may include a ban on using U.S. driver's licenses at border crossings, requiring U.S. passports as identification.

"Certainly we need to review the policy of our inspectors at the border and their reliance upon driver's licenses," said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security.

"We are not going to say [that] we are going to have closer scrutiny on Californians," Hutchinson told the LA Times.

"We would simply look at our overall policy and what our inspectors need to be checking. If driver's licenses are given to people who are illegally in the country, then that puts an extra burden and difficulty on our inspectors at the border."

"If you do not have confidence in the integrity of the licenses, then it really undermines the whole premise of allowing U.S. citizens to travel abroad and come back without a passport," said Hutchinson.

Davis 'out of Step'

U.S. officials are not the only ones concerned that a U.S. driver's license will no longer be a valid ID. According to Canadian officials, the move by California will affect security inside Canada and along the border with the U.S.

"Governor Davis appears to be out of step with the times," stated Scott Newark, special security adviser to the Ontario public security minister.

"The issue since September 11, 2001, has been not for more security but for better security. This is fundamentally a step backwards," stated Newark.

"I've never heard of anyone suggesting that we give such documentation to known illegal aliens. There has been a debate here in Canada about compulsory ID cards, but it seems far more efficient to make ID cards a requirement for those who are not citizens."

"When the people who are responsible choose not to act responsibly, do not be surprised if others choose not to honor these ID cards," stated Newark.

"The driver's license has long been viewed in law enforcement as a foundation document. Most of the recent cases of terrorism involve phony IDs. The stakes have risen because of the vulnerabilities," noted Newark.

The facts do back Newark's allegations. Several of the Sept. 11 hijackers illegally obtained Virginia licenses by giving a false address. A congressional report recently concluded that it remains relatively easy to acquire licenses with a phony ID.

The recent move by Gov. Davis will make it even easier for terrorists and criminals to illegally obtain false IDs.

Get a Passport

The inevitable result of the California ID issue is to move the U.S. away from driver's licenses as a means of identification and toward a national ID system. Many privacy and constitutional rights advocates oppose a national ID issued by the U.S. government. The last major effort to pass a national ID card was as a part of Hillary Clinton's failed effort to socialize medicine in the U.S. Mrs. Clinton's proposal included a national health care ID card for every citizen.

However, these arguments may be swept aside by sheer necessity because ordinary citizens will find that their driver's licenses can no longer be used to make purchases, open accounts, fly on airplanes or cash checks. Your driver's license will be good for one thing only – to drive.

"If it's simply viewed as it means they have passed a driver's test and have some type of insurance, and it has no further meaning beyond that, then that might be what we need," stated Homeland Security undersecretary Hutchinson.

Charles Smith will be on:

Talk Radio Network (TRN) & Internet – Jeff Rense show on Wednesday, 9/17/03, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

WIBQ, Sarasota, FL the morning show with Christopher Markowski Friday, 9/19/03, 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

The American Freedom Network with NewsMax contributor Dr. James Hirsen on Friday, 9/19/03, at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Show information at http://www.amerifree.com.

The Jerry Hughes show on Friday, 9/19/03, at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Show information at http://www.cilamerica.com.

The Phil Paleologos "American Breakfast" show on Tuesday, 9/23/03, the Langer Broadcast Network, at 8 a.m. Eastern time. Show information at www.dinershow.com.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
California Governor's Race
Homeland/Civil Defense
Immigration/Borders

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