Eric Leonard
Friday, Sept. 5, 2003

This as critics in Davis' own state government condemned the bill for endangering the public and the electoral process by enabling illegal aliens to fraudulently vote and unlawfully purchase firearms.

SB-60, revived this year after similar bills were vetoed in 2001 and 2002, would allow 'undocumented immigrants' to apply for state-issued driver's licenses using foreign birth documents and IRS taxpayer identification numbers in lieu of previously required U.S. birth certificates and Social Security numbers.

The licenses issued under the proposed law would carry no indication that the applicant was not a legal resident. That, critics say, will create a host of problems they say bill supporters have failed to address.

Voter Fraud Expected

A driver's license is the only official document needed to register to vote, according to the Registrar of Voters office in Los Angeles County, Calif. A spokesperson there said that's because, until now, a valid license was a clear indication of legal residency.

The Registrar's Office confirms an illegal alien, license in hand, would simply have to lie in response to the citizenship question on the voter registration form in order to begin voting.

The office said it has no way to verify whether or not an applicant is a citizen. Voter registration forms are signed under penalty of perjury, it said, and the citizenship question is simply answered "on the honor system."

Officials at the office could not recall a single instance of a registered voter being prosecuted for perjury.

Additionally, California's motor-voter law enables driver's license applicants to simultaneously register to vote. The new license bill has no provisions to limit or remove the automatic voter registration process from the applications.

Door Open for Illegal Gun Sales

Illegal aliens have been prohibited from buying or transferring firearms since the passage of the federal Gun Control Act in 1968, but federal law enforcement sources warn the driver's license bill will enable illegals to complete seemingly legitimate gun purchases.

Just like the voter registration documents, California gun transfer forms rely on the honor system to establish citizenship.

"If they lie on their dealer record of sale and say yes, they are a citizen when they are not, there is ... not going to be a further check completed," said Hallye Jordan, a spokesperson for the California Department of Justice.

Sources inside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said the implications of the new driver's license rules are especially alarming in Southern California, where they say rings of traffickers smuggle weapons from the U.S. into Mexico, where the guns are sold at inflated prices on the black market.

Currently, agents say, the smuggling rings often buy stolen weapons and use 'straw purchasers' to obtain firearms. Under the rules in the new law, they say the smugglers, which are most often Mexican nationals who have crossed into the U.S. illegally, will simply obtain a 'clean' and legitimate driver's license and buy the guns legally.

Problems With the Bill

State senator and Republican recall candidate Tom McClintock said Thursday that Colorado has already passed a law rejecting the validity of California driver's licenses should Gov. Davis sign the bill.

He said the law means California licenses could no longer be used for identification or driving in Colorado after the California bill takes effect next year.

A spokesperson for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said this week their office withdrew support for the bill after lawmakers removed provisions for electronic fingerprinting of applicants, and last week, Department of Motor Vehicles investigators warned passage would lead to rampant identity fraud.

"As peace officers, we are concerned that there are already a great number of ways to illegally obtain a DMV license," DMV Investigators Association president Richard Carillo told the Sacramento Bee newspaper.

"SB-60 doesn't require comparison of prints or documents from non-citizens with their supposed nation of origin; nor does it allow for the DMV to verify prints that should be on file with federal immigration authorities."

On Aug. 9, the Internal Revenue Service cautioned that TINs, or Taxpayer Identification Numbers, are an unsuitable source of valid identification.

"If your state is considering legislation to accept [individual taxpayer identification numbers] as proof of identity for driver's licenses, please alert your legislators to potential security risks," says a letter from IRS administrators.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Homeland/Civil Defense
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