Press Release
Washington – Today, Rep. Tom Reed blasted Governor Andrew Cuomo for his reckless support of a bill to grant illegal immigrants drivers licenses, and highlighted his work to find a legislative fix to our immigration system by changing the House rules.
“For Cuomo to support this bill is reckless. Giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants is not fair for the men and women who immigrated here legally, for hardworking New York taxpayers or the Mothers who worry about the safety of their children in our neighborhoods,” Tom said. “This is why we are working to change the House rules so we can reform our immigration system responsibly and make it easier for bipartisan bills to pass.”
“Here we go in the new New York State. Governor Cuomo and his one-party-rules Legislature are getting ready to blow through stop signs trouncing the individual rights of hard-working, law-abiding, lifelong, responsible residents,” State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) said. "Buckle up, look both ways, and hold on to your wallet, this state's about to get taxed and turned upside down at breakneck speed."
“All New Yorkers should be alarmed about the Governor's support of a proposal that would allow illegal immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses,” Senator Catharine M. Young, (57th Senate District), said. “Rewarding those who have broken our laws with the same rights as American citizens is fundamentally wrong. It is essentially a backdoor maneuver intended to allow those here illegally to vote in our elections.”
"This radical proposal has the potential to jeopardize our national security. We have a duty and obligation to uphold and consistently enforce the rule of law,” State Senator Pam Helming said. “This New York City driven legislation would create a pandora's box of problems and will not make our communities safer. In 2007, then Governor Spitzer put forward a similar proposal that failed. County clerks across the state, including then Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul, aggressively opposed this measure. The Governor and legislature should can this proposal. I thank Tom for his leadership on this important issue."
“Since New York State has voter registration as part of DMV services, this move to provide illegal aliens with drivers licenses will create opportunities for fraudulent voter registrations,” Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello said. It needlessly increases the burden on county government, which provides DMV services.”
The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus Tom co-chairs introduced a proposal to secure our border, reform our immigration system and provide legal status for our Dreamers this past spring, but due to the archaic House rules were never able to receive an up or down vote on the bill.
New York state granting standard driver’s license to illegal immigrants will inhibit law enforcement’s ability to identify illegal aliens when stopped for suspicion of a crime and limit their ability to notify ICE – increasing the chances dangerous, illegal immigrant criminals will go undetected in our community for years to come.
