In a move that could greatly backfire on him, on Monday New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill that grants illegal aliens the right to obtain a driver’s license. The move came shortly after the Democrat-led New York Senate approved the controversial measure 33-29.
“The vote ended months of uncertainty at the state Capitol, where Democratic lawmakers in marginal districts struggled with the controversial bill as legislative leaders weighed whether it had enough support to pass,” the Democrat and Chronicle reported.
#BREAKING @NYSenate has just passed the #GreenLightBill pic.twitter.com/52ygih8Cfe
— Emily DeFeciani (@CBS6_Emily) June 18, 2019
Slated to take effect in 180 days, the bill will not only grant illegals access to drivers’ licenses but also allow them to apply for a license by using “foreign documents such as passports,” according to the Rochester newspaper.
New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins issued a statement praising the vote as the “right step forward for New York state.”
“Today, we passed legislation restoring the right for all qualified drivers to obtain drivers licenses regardless of immigration status,” she said. “By passing this needed legislation, we are growing our economy while at the same time making our roads safer. This is the right step forward for New York State as we continue to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform on the federal level.”
The far-left legislator repeated the statement on Twitter in Spanish:
“Hoy, aprobamos una ley que restaura el derecho de todos los conductores calificados a obtener licencias de conducir independientemente del estado de inmigración.”
(1/2)— Sen. Stewart-Cousins (@AndreaSCousins) June 18, 2019
“Con esta legislación necesaria, estamos haciendo crecer nuestra economía al mismo tiempo que hacemos nuestras carreteras más seguras. Este es el paso correcto para el estado de Nueva York ya que continuamos abogando por una reforma migratoria integral a nivel federal.” (2/2)
— Sen. Stewart-Cousins (@AndreaSCousins) June 18, 2019
But while she and the rest of the state’s radically far-left legislators were busy celebrating, others were noting that this bill — not to mention the enthusiasm with which New York’s Democrat political leaders had pursued it — could cost them rather “bigly.”
Why? For one, last week a Siena poll found that a 53 percent majority of New Yorkers oppose the bill. Only 41 percent support it. Among the naysayers were 82 percent of Republicans and a notable 55 percent of Independents:
Though some were quick to note that opposition had dropped by two percentage points since April, the fact remains that an overwhelming majority still oppose the bill.
State Republicans have reportedly already begun campaigning on this discrepancy:
Assembly Republicans wasted no time campaigning on the drivers licenses bill. pic.twitter.com/ktymbCVEMv
— Josefa Velasquez (@J__Velasquez) June 12, 2019
Second, this bill’s passage and signing into law could potentially prove very beneficial for President Donald Trump and his administration’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration.
Why? In providing illegal aliens with drivers’ licenses, New York state will have no other option but to create a database to track the aliens’ driving information and records.
Were the Trump administration’s immigration officials to obtain access to this database, it would make their efforts to locate and deport illegal aliens that much easier.
Even Cuomo realizes this, which is why he reportedly vowed earlier Monday to ask New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood to review the matter and “assure us that the federal government will not be able to access the information or subpoena the information.”
“You create a driver’s license for undocumented people, you just have to make sure you do it in a way that the feds don’t come in the next day and access that database with the exact opposite intention,” he said in an interview on radio station WAMC.
But what will happen if Underwood is unable to assure him that the data his administration collects on illegal aliens won’t be accessed by the Trump administration?
Then New York will be stuck in the same situation as California, the governor himself explained.
“California passed a law and they are now in litigation because the federal government is using their DMV, Department of Motor Vehicles, database to target undocumented people,” he admitted.
Awww shucks!
It gets even better for those justifiably against illegal immigration. How so? According to Cuomo, New York City has already been through this quagmire before. And the last time this happened, illegals almost got screwed.
“New York City went through this when the federal government, I think subpoenaed their information on the New York City ID cards that they had done for undocumented people,” he said. “New York City, their only option was to destroy the data because they couldn’t prevent turning it over.”
But the problem, he added, is that “[w]e can’t destroy Department of Motor Vehicle data.”
So once his officials collect data on the state’s illegals, that data will be there to stay. The same cannot necessarily be said of the illegal aliens represented by this data.
Late Monday evening, the president announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities plan to begin rounding up and deporting illegal aliens as soon as next week:
Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in. Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
….long before they get to our Southern Border. Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement. The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
The president will likely be pleased to know that New York is inadvertently doing its best to help him along in his plan.
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Vivek@bizpacreview.com
V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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