New Mexico Democrats face pressure over REAL ID fix
Russell Contreras
ALBUQUERQUE - The fate of legislation aimed at bringing New Mexico into compliance with tougher federal identification requirements is now in the hands of the Democratic-led Senate.
A key Senate committee is scheduled Tuesday to hear proposals that lawmakers say would do just that. The differences center on how the state deals with immigrants living in the country illegally who want to lawfully drive in New Mexico.
A version passed by the GOP-controlled House would require residents to get a REAL ID compliant license and allow immigrants to obtain a driver's permit card. Gov. Susana Martinez favors that measure.
Senate Democrats, however, are pushing a proposal that would create a two-tier system, granting REAL ID compliant licenses to those who want them and non-compliant ones to others who don't want to go through the federal requirements. Immigrants in the country illegally would be able to obtain non-compliant licenses.
Another measure introduced late Monday by two key senators, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, would essential combine elements of the two bills for a compromise.
The REAL ID Act requires proof of legal U.S. residency for those who want to use state identification to access certain areas of federal facilities. New Mexico has no such requirement and allows immigrants to get state driver's licenses regardless of legal status.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said New Mexico wouldn't get an extension on REAL ID mandates and already military installations have stopped accepting New Mexico driver's licenses for entry.
Commercial flights will stop accepting current New Mexico driver's licenses by 2018, federal officials said.
Brian Sanderoff, president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling, Inc., said the response of Senate Democrats to the bills will determine how Democrats are perceived if the session ends without a driver's license fix. If the Senate gives the bills fair and speedy hearings, then the public may be forgiving.
"It's important for the Senate to address this one way or another," Sanderoff said.
Jeronimo Cortina, a University of Houston political science professor, said if Senate Democrats simply ignore the GOP proposal and pass the Senate Democratic version that Martinez won't support, Democrats could see backlash in November. That's because it would be easy for New Mexico Republicans to paint Democrats as uncompromising on a REAL ID fix when uncertainty over driver's licenses remains.
The control of the New Mexico Senate then would be up for grabs, he said.
"It would be very easy to explain to voters since almost everyone would be affected," Cortina said. "A New Mexico driver's license would be nothing more than a Mickey Mouse card."
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez has said he was open to blending the two competing proposals.
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