New York governor gives up license plan

The plan to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses was widely criticized.

NEWSDAY

WASHINGTON — Bowing to overwhelming public pressure, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday morning shelved his controversial plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants and called on the federal government to fix the broken immigration policy that results in high costs for the states.

Spitzer, in a press conference across from the U.S. Capitol, defended his license policy, which has been derided by both Democrats and Republicans as posing security concerns and rewarding people who entered the country illegally.

“I believe what we were trying to do was right,” he said. “But you don’t need a stethoscope to hear the heartbeat of the public on this,” he added, referring to polls showing more than 70 percent of New York voters opposed the license change.

Spitzer wouldn’t rule out reviving his license plan but said for now he would return to other issues facing the state such as economic development, education and housing.

In fact, the Democratic governor acknowledged little progress could be made on these issues if he stuck with the license initiative.

“The result would have been the defeat of this proposal and, even worse, a roadblock to solutions on so many important issues — like revitalizing our economy, lowering the cost of health care while improving quality and access; restoring excellence to our education system, and reducing property taxes. It is for these reasons that I will not move forward with this plan,” Spitzer said.

The governor’s comments came after an hour-long meeting with the state’s congressional delegation. People present said only about 15 minutes of the closed-door session was devoted to the license policy.

Afterwards, some Democrats hailed Spitzer’s “courage” for putting forward the license plan and called for action on immigration reform measures.

“You fought the good fight. The ball is now in our court,” said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., referring to the need for immigration reform. “The idea was right, the timing was wrong.”

Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., added, “This might not have been the exact right plan. But the governor is on to something.”

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., predicted Spitzer would recover from the beating he’s taken for two months on his license policy. She said she opposed it because of concerns about the undocumented gaining access to guns.