New Mexico licenses won't work in airports under federal law: governor [View all]
Source: Reuters
New Mexico's policy of granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants will violate a federal law taking effect in January, meaning residents won't be able to use their licenses as ID to board airplanes, the state's governor says.
"It's deeply concerning that New Mexicans who work at our labs, get on an airplane, or need to show identification at any other federal facility will no longer be able to use their driver's license to do so," New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez said in a statement.
States have until Monday to tell the federal government whether they plan to comply with the federal Real ID Act, which is scheduled to go into effect January 15 after several delays in implementation since it was passed in 2005. The law creates national standards for the issuance of state driver's licenses and identification cards.
... Peter Simonson, executive director of the New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called Martinez's letter a "scare tactic meant to advance her agenda of dismantling New Mexico's driver's license law."
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/12/us-usa-newmexico-licenses-idUSBRE89B1E520121012
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