Spitzer policy granting licenses to illegal immigrants is coming under increased fire
Number of critics to governor’s plan grows as questions continue on insurance costs, terrorism and common sense .
Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer’s new policy that permits illegal immigrants to obtain New York State driver’s licenses is “an absurd” decision that will provide a new gateway for terrorists, a member of the federal commission that investigated the 2001 World Trade Center attacks warns.
“It’s a perfect formula for al-Qaida. They won’t be able to resist it. They will be able to come to New York,” said John Lehman, a former secretary of the Navy who served on the 9/11 Commission that warned of the nation’s vulnerabilities to terrorist strikes.
Lehman joins a growing number of critics of the new Spitzer policy, including two mayors involved in the recovery of the 9/11 attacks — Rudy Giuliani and Michael R. Bloomberg — and an assortment of law enforcement officials, Republicans and Democrats.
In an interview Saturday with The Buffalo News, Lehman said the state is undermining the many efforts made to improve security in New York City since 2001.
“It is not logical,” he said of the Spitzer policy, adding: “As we know, New York is target number one.”
Spitzer’s plan “is going to make life easier for illegals,” especially terrorists, counterfeiters and others who will have easy access to a valuable piece of identification, Lehman said.
Lehman also said the policy will put New York at odds with a looming federal identification program recommended by his commission, which noted how valuable identification cards are for terrorists in moving cash and traveling.
“It’s going to become a magnet to lawbreakers because the surrounding states will adhere to the federal standards,” he said. “So, New York becomes a sanctuary for al-Qaida and all sorts of other people on the lam.”
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