(no subject)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 19, 2007
NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT ENDORSES NEW YORK STATE DRIVER’S LICENSE POLICY
Registering Immigrants Improves Security and Aids Law Enforcement
In a speech delivered today at the New York University Center for Law and Security, Governor Eliot Spitzer detailed how changes to the state’s driver’s license policy and enhanced anti-fraud measures will make the system the most secure of any in the nation and increase the public’s safety and security. The Governor announced that Richard Clarke, the former White House National Coordinator for Security and Counter-Terrorism under the Bush Administration, today joined the ranks of those who have endorsed New York’s new driver’s license policy.
“The obligation we have at the state level is to protect the public by keeping our roads safe, preventing crime and supporting counter national terrorism efforts,” said Governor Spitzer. “By bringing people out of the shadows and into the system and by implementing new anti-fraud security measures that improve our ability to prove a person is who they say they are, we will vastly enhance the safety and security of all New Yorkers.”
In a statement, Clarke said: “States should act to register immigrants, legal and illegal, who use our roadways as New York is doing. From a law enforcement and security perspective, it is far preferable for the state to know who is living in it and driving on its roads, and to have their photograph and their address on file than to have large numbers of people living in our cities whose identity is totally unknown to the government.”
Speaking about Clarke’s endorsement, Governor Spitzer said: “Here’s a person who, at a critical time in our nation’s history, had the courage to stand up and say the hard truths that no one wanted to hear. At a moment when it was easy to lapse in to commonplace rhetoric, he never lost sight of the facts.”
The Governor’s speech focused on the challenge created by the federal government's failure to adequately police the nation’s borders. The Governor must thus confront the reality that there are more than one million undocumented immigrants currently living in New York State who are not part of any database.
Governor Spitzer said: “We are not talking about bringing more people into this country; we are talking about being practical about the ones who are already here. Bringing 1 million people out of the shadows and into the system will increase our chances of catching terrorists and tracking criminals. I’m asking everyone to recognize that when you separate immigration politics from security policy, and look at the evidence, restoring access to drivers licenses tied to increased security measures will make all New Yorkers safer.”
The Governor said that, as recommended by the 9/11 Commission, the state is taking steps to make the license system more secure. He said he would not begin implementing this policy until our security measures are in place and have proven to work, and he invited all state legislators to the DMV to test the equipment themselves.
A driver’s license applicant who does not have a Social Security number or SSA letter of ineligibility with attached INS forms to prove legal status, will have to go through the following, more rigorous process:
Strict Identity Document Requirement. Applicants will be required to have their photograph taken and to present six points of current and valid identification, including a current and valid passport.
State-of-the-Art Document Authentication. Passports will be scanned through state-of-the-art document authentication machines, similar to those used by many U.S. Customs stations.
Enhanced Identification Verification Unit. Applicants will not experience an over-the-counter process as is currently the case. Instead, all the applicant’s identity documents will be sent to DMV’s new Enhanced Identification Verification Unit-the first of its kind in the nation. The unit will be staffed by investigators working with specially-trained clerks, who will be certified by the very same training program used to train federal agents who review breeder documents at agencies like the Department of Defense and the State Department.
Photo-Comparison Technology. Another highly effective tool DMV is implementing is facial recognition technology-currently used by the U.S. State Department and 18 other states. Facial recognition technology will enable DMV to compare the photograph of every driver’s license applicant against every single photograph in the current system to make sure applicants can’t create multiple identities. It takes DMV’s “one person, one license” security principle to the next level and will be a major weapon in our fight against identity theft.
Residency Requirement. DMV will establish a strict residency requirement so only New York residents can get a New York license. Currently, 27 other states have residency requirements.
The DMV estimates that tens of thousands of undocumented, unlicensed and uninsured drivers are currently on New York’s roads. As a result of the prior administration’s restrictions, approximately 152,000 New Yorkers were blocked from renewing their licenses. And hundreds of thousands of new applicants were prevented from coming into the license system in the first place.
Clarke is a leading national security and counter-terrorism expert. In his over 30 years of government service, he has worked in various capacities in the Department of Defense, Department of State, and National Security Council (NSC) for Republican and Democratic presidents. During the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, he served as National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure and Protection, and Counter-terrorism. From 1992-2003, he also chaired the NSC’s Counter-terrorism Security Group.
http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/1019071.html
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and this.
October 19, 2007
NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT ENDORSES NEW YORK STATE DRIVER’S LICENSE POLICY
Registering Immigrants Improves Security and Aids Law Enforcement
In a speech delivered today at the New York University Center for Law and Security, Governor Eliot Spitzer detailed how changes to the state’s driver’s license policy and enhanced anti-fraud measures will make the system the most secure of any in the nation and increase the public’s safety and security. The Governor announced that Richard Clarke, the former White House National Coordinator for Security and Counter-Terrorism under the Bush Administration, today joined the ranks of those who have endorsed New York’s new driver’s license policy.
“The obligation we have at the state level is to protect the public by keeping our roads safe, preventing crime and supporting counter national terrorism efforts,” said Governor Spitzer. “By bringing people out of the shadows and into the system and by implementing new anti-fraud security measures that improve our ability to prove a person is who they say they are, we will vastly enhance the safety and security of all New Yorkers.”
In a statement, Clarke said: “States should act to register immigrants, legal and illegal, who use our roadways as New York is doing. From a law enforcement and security perspective, it is far preferable for the state to know who is living in it and driving on its roads, and to have their photograph and their address on file than to have large numbers of people living in our cities whose identity is totally unknown to the government.”
Speaking about Clarke’s endorsement, Governor Spitzer said: “Here’s a person who, at a critical time in our nation’s history, had the courage to stand up and say the hard truths that no one wanted to hear. At a moment when it was easy to lapse in to commonplace rhetoric, he never lost sight of the facts.”
The Governor’s speech focused on the challenge created by the federal government's failure to adequately police the nation’s borders. The Governor must thus confront the reality that there are more than one million undocumented immigrants currently living in New York State who are not part of any database.
Governor Spitzer said: “We are not talking about bringing more people into this country; we are talking about being practical about the ones who are already here. Bringing 1 million people out of the shadows and into the system will increase our chances of catching terrorists and tracking criminals. I’m asking everyone to recognize that when you separate immigration politics from security policy, and look at the evidence, restoring access to drivers licenses tied to increased security measures will make all New Yorkers safer.”
The Governor said that, as recommended by the 9/11 Commission, the state is taking steps to make the license system more secure. He said he would not begin implementing this policy until our security measures are in place and have proven to work, and he invited all state legislators to the DMV to test the equipment themselves.
A driver’s license applicant who does not have a Social Security number or SSA letter of ineligibility with attached INS forms to prove legal status, will have to go through the following, more rigorous process:
Strict Identity Document Requirement. Applicants will be required to have their photograph taken and to present six points of current and valid identification, including a current and valid passport.
State-of-the-Art Document Authentication. Passports will be scanned through state-of-the-art document authentication machines, similar to those used by many U.S. Customs stations.
Enhanced Identification Verification Unit. Applicants will not experience an over-the-counter process as is currently the case. Instead, all the applicant’s identity documents will be sent to DMV’s new Enhanced Identification Verification Unit-the first of its kind in the nation. The unit will be staffed by investigators working with specially-trained clerks, who will be certified by the very same training program used to train federal agents who review breeder documents at agencies like the Department of Defense and the State Department.
Photo-Comparison Technology. Another highly effective tool DMV is implementing is facial recognition technology-currently used by the U.S. State Department and 18 other states. Facial recognition technology will enable DMV to compare the photograph of every driver’s license applicant against every single photograph in the current system to make sure applicants can’t create multiple identities. It takes DMV’s “one person, one license” security principle to the next level and will be a major weapon in our fight against identity theft.
Residency Requirement. DMV will establish a strict residency requirement so only New York residents can get a New York license. Currently, 27 other states have residency requirements.
The DMV estimates that tens of thousands of undocumented, unlicensed and uninsured drivers are currently on New York’s roads. As a result of the prior administration’s restrictions, approximately 152,000 New Yorkers were blocked from renewing their licenses. And hundreds of thousands of new applicants were prevented from coming into the license system in the first place.
Clarke is a leading national security and counter-terrorism expert. In his over 30 years of government service, he has worked in various capacities in the Department of Defense, Department of State, and National Security Council (NSC) for Republican and Democratic presidents. During the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, he served as National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure and Protection, and Counter-terrorism. From 1992-2003, he also chaired the NSC’s Counter-terrorism Security Group.
http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/1019071.html
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and this.