What Susana’s letter to Homeland Security means

From Capitol Report New Mexico - New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has sent a letter to US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asking for clarification about the Real ID Act. But the letter sent on Wednesday (Oct. 10) is also a political move aimed at trying to put a few notable state Democrats on the hot seat as Election Day nears. Here’s the deal:

Part of the rationale for Gov. Martinez’s insistence that state legislators repeal the New Mexico law granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants is that should the current law remain on the books, New Mexico citizens theoretically could see their driver’s licenses rejected when boarding a plane because a federal law called the Real ID Act called for enhanced security and identification after the 9/11 terror attacks. Instead, New Mexicans would need a passport.

In the letter to Secretary Napolitano, Martinez asks the Homeland Security boss to confirm that the Real ID Act will go into effect January 15 — in little more than three months. From the letter:

It is my understanding that only a driver’s license and identification card issued by a state that has received a compliance determination by DHS may be accepted for official federal purposes, including entrance to our national labs and other federal facilities, as well as boarding airplanes. I support the goals of the Real ID Act and its role in promoting our national security. I will once again be asking our legislature to bring our driver’s license laws into full compliance during our upcoming legislative session.

Martinez and supporters of her bills to repeal the law have brought this up before and defenders of the current law have responded by saying that the Real ID Act was supposed to go into effect back in 2008 but each time the deadline comes, it gets extended.

But the political reality is that by writing the letter, the Martinez administration focuses on Democrats who have opposed repealing the New Mexico driver’s license law or have supported a compromise bill – such as the one sponsored by Democrat and Senate pro tem Tim Jennings, who just so happens to be locked in a heated re-election race against a Republican strongly in favor of repealing the law. Politically, repealing the law is a winner for Martinez since polls repeatedly show that New Mexico voters want to dump it. Last month, a poll released by the Albuquerque Journal showed 71 percent in favor of changing the law. Read more

What Susana’s letter to Homeland Security means