Call and email your NM Senators/Representatives, today! Tell them that New Mexico is not Arizona. We want the safety of ALL community members! Immigrants need NM Drivers' Licenses! Here's the link to find your legislators: http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/legislatorsearch.aspx CALL NOW!
There are a million impassioned arguments for why New Mexico must remain a place of freedom. I will not make that argument (see links at bottom of page). Instead, I am going to tell a story that no more than a handful of people in New Mexico could tell. I was an Internal Auditor for the NM Department of Taxation and Revenue. I audited immigrants' driver's license applications. I know first-hand how important this documentation is.
In conducting audits, I was given copies of each piece of paperwork that was submitted by immigrants, documented and undocumented, to the NM Motor Vehicle Division to receive a New Mexico driver's license. I was able to check in with the Mexican consulate's website whether the documentation was correct. I checked documentation from other countries according to policies and procedures of the Internal Audit Division. I found that some people did not have the correct documentation. All results were reported to my supervisor through use of a spreadsheet.
As a result of the audits fraud was found in very few cases. But, the important part is that fraud was found. Without driver's licenses how will we detect this fraud? Shall we hire a league of ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers as the front line? Or, should we continue to act as a state and make our own decisions about how to handle issues regarding immigrants?
Our NM legislature has been hijacked through a campaign of hate and fear. The hijackers want us to focus on "illegal immigrants"/community members rather than what's really important - a balanced budget that includes needed services for all New Mexico residents!
You want a safe community? Then make it open, so that people aren't afraid. Require driver's licenses/State identification cards for all residents old enough to drive. Find the frauds and take care of them. Allow those who have gone through or are going through the process of becoming a legal resident/naturalized US citizen to remain, unharassed. Stop the hate! Remember, we are people of a long history of immigration. We respect and welcome all those who come here in peace and dignity. We are New Mexicans!
For more on why NO person is ILLEGAL and news on legislative action:
Somos Unidos un Pueblo's (in English, too) website: http://www.somosunpueblounido.org/
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos's website (in English too): http://www.elcentro-nm.org/
New Mexico Legislature Headlines on Driver's Licenses for Immigrants:
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Driver-s-license-bill-back-with-a-blast
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/New-life-for-immigrant-licenses
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2006346.shtml?cat=504
Yes yes yes, beautifully written Clarissa! Thanks!
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