Ehrlich seeks tougher licensing

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. wants the General Assembly to pass regulations to tighten licensing standards in the state as soon as possible.

In a two-page letter to its chairman, Sen. Paul G. Pinsky, Mr. Ehrlich, said the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review (AELR) should not wait until after the November elections to debate curbs on license fraud by illegal aliens.

“I request that you schedule a hearing on this matter at the earliest possible date and strongly urge that the AELR committee approve the regulations,” Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, wrote.

An internal study this summer by the state Motor Vehicle Administration revealed a 233 percent increase in the number of false claims of residency or attempts to obtain new identities when applying for licenses, mainly at branches that serve many foreign-born people.

In response, the MVA this summer filed a proposal to eliminate the use of foreign baptismal and school records to prove identity.

Mr. Pinsky told The Washington Times last month that several committee members had called for a hearing, saying the proposal was discriminatory.

But Mr. Ehrlich said the MVA study — coupled with the doubling of applications filed each week by foreign-born applicants, the recent indictment of five MVA employees suspected of selling more than 150 fake licenses and the knowledge that at least one September 11 hijacker obtained a license in the state — indicate a recipe for disaster.

Maryland does not require that license applicants be in the U.S. legally.

“It is clear that Maryland is becoming a magnet for illegal immigrants living on the East Coast who are using fraud to prove legal residence in the State,” Mr. Ehrlich wrote. “It is imperative that we do everything in our power to stop this kind of fraud.”

Mr. Pinsky, however, accused Mr. Ehrlich of pandering for votes and said tightening standards could create an even bigger market for fake IDs.

Mr. Pinsky called Mr. Ehrlich’s letter contradictory because it argues that illegal aliens are able to obtain licenses easily in the state but also says that the market for fake IDs is thriving.

The senator also said the committee was in no hurry to pass regulations mere months before the rules likely will change again to bring the state into compliance with the federal Real ID Act.

The act requires that all states by 2008 verify the legal status of license applicants or the licenses may not be used for federal purposes such as boarding planes or entering federal buildings.

“If it’s legitimate reasons we should change [the regulations], I think we should talk about it,” said Mr. Pinsky, Prince George’s Democrat. “For us to hold it off for a month doesn’t seem illogical. … I just don’t want to be bullied into it because a campaign’s on.”

• Mixed message

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