Wednesday, January 17, 2007

New Auto Tag Bill Introduced

An ongoing cat-and-mouse game between license plate offices and illegal immigrants has a new player the General Assembly. At many tag offices, applicants who say they have arrived in Georgia within the past month can receive a license plate by furnishing a driver's license from another state or country. That allows people who are in the country illegally — and unable to qualify for a Georgia driver's license — to get behind the wheel.
The state's fast-growing population of illegal immigrants — estimated at 470,000 last year by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — has brought the issue to the forefront. Last year, Rogers authored what is considered one of the nation's toughest crackdowns on illegal immigrants at the state level. Denying them auto tags this year will further "demagnetize" Georgia, he said, making the state less attractive to people who have entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas.
personnel and other special cases, Rogers said.
Douglas took the first stab Thursday, filing a bill that would force people to prove they are legal U.S. residents at the tag office. Applicants would have to furnish a birth certificate, U.S. passport or federally issued document showing they're in the country legally.

...Will other states start intruducing similar bills and what will be the implications?

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