{"id":5013,"date":"2015-02-16T11:33:42","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T18:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=5013"},"modified":"2020-06-02T10:25:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T17:25:46","slug":"politics-propels-drivers-license-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Politics Propels Driver’s License Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Credit:<\/a>

Credit: James Maskell (via Flickr Creative Commons)<\/p><\/div>\n

By: Gwyneth Doland<\/p>\n

New Mexico state representatives voted last week\u00a0to repeal a state law that allows people to get New Mexico driver\u2019s licenses even if they\u2019re in the country illegally.\u00a0 Some observers see this as a political battle in which winning the war isn\u2019t as important as fighting the battle.<\/p>\n

Pointing to several examples of fraud, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez asked state lawmakers again this year to stop allowing immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally to get driver\u2019s licenses here.<\/p>\n

But immigrant-rights activists like Marcela Diaz of Somos Un Pueblo Unido<\/a>\u00a0say the bill, versions of which have failed in previous sessions, is about politics, not security.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis really isn\u2019t about New Mexico at all,\u201d Diaz told the People, Power and Democracy Project. “It really is about the governor\u2019s national aspirations within the Republican Party. This is a way for Governor Martinez to continue to placate the anti-immigrant faction within her base and continue to raise money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez has mentioned the issue in her fundraising appeals. In a 2013 email to supporters she wrote: \u201cOver the last few years, we have passed the repeal out of the state House, but it has been killed by liberal Democrats in the Senate. Now, our opponents want us to give up. They are organized and well financed so I am asking you to join me by contributing whatever you can to help make sure we go into the session prepared to fight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The immigrant-rights movement is not particularly powerful or well-moneyed, state Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino told the Albuquerque Journal<\/a> that year. \u201cThe people that are opposing the governor for the most part have zero dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Pacheco<\/a>, R-Albuquerque, who is sponsoring the bill (HB\u00a032<\/a>) says his aim was to make the license system more secure and to bring the state into compliance with the federal Real ID Act<\/a>. The measure is expected to fail in the state Senate, which is controlled by Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

People, Power and Democracy
\n<\/strong>A reporting partnership between New Mexico PBS, KUNM and New Mexico In Depth<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Gwyneth Doland New Mexico state representatives voted last week\u00a0to repeal a state law that allows people to get New Mexico driver\u2019s licenses even if they\u2019re in the country illegally.\u00a0 Some observers see this as a political battle in which winning the war isn\u2019t as important as fighting the battle. Pointing to several examples of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[487,224],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2015-legislative-session","category-legislature-2"],"yoast_head":"\nPolitics Propels Driver's License Debate - New Mexico In Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Politics Propels Driver's License Debate - New Mexico In Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Gwyneth Doland New Mexico state representatives voted last week\u00a0to repeal a state law that allows people to get New Mexico driver\u2019s licenses even if they\u2019re in the country illegally.\u00a0 Some observers see this as a political battle in which winning the war isn\u2019t as important as fighting the battle. Pointing to several examples of…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New Mexico In Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-02-16T18:33:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-02T17:25:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ashley Rammelsberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ashley Rammelsberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ashley Rammelsberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/854d4f70091e136d29968adbfdfcae09\"},\"headline\":\"Politics Propels Driver’s License Debate\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-16T18:33:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-02T17:25:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":368,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2015 Legislative Session\",\"Legislature\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/\",\"name\":\"Politics Propels Driver's License Debate - New Mexico In Focus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-16T18:33:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-02T17:25:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/854d4f70091e136d29968adbfdfcae09\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Politics Propels Driver’s License Debate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/\",\"name\":\"New Mexico In Focus\",\"description\":\"Involved, Informed, In-depth Journalism\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/854d4f70091e136d29968adbfdfcae09\",\"name\":\"Ashley Rammelsberg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5ee436a4bf74db7621ae483e4d75a8406ae4989f9fd16bde54251186b6760f74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5ee436a4bf74db7621ae483e4d75a8406ae4989f9fd16bde54251186b6760f74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5ee436a4bf74db7621ae483e4d75a8406ae4989f9fd16bde54251186b6760f74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ashley Rammelsberg\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.newmexicopbs.org\\\/productions\\\/newmexicoinfocus\\\/author\\\/arammelsberg\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Politics Propels Driver's License Debate - New Mexico In Focus","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Politics Propels Driver's License Debate - New Mexico In Focus","og_description":"By: Gwyneth Doland New Mexico state representatives voted last week\u00a0to repeal a state law that allows people to get New Mexico driver\u2019s licenses even if they\u2019re in the country illegally.\u00a0 Some observers see this as a political battle in which winning the war isn\u2019t as important as fighting the battle. Pointing to several examples of…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/","og_site_name":"New Mexico In Focus","article_published_time":"2015-02-16T18:33:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-06-02T17:25:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Ashley Rammelsberg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ashley Rammelsberg","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/"},"author":{"name":"Ashley Rammelsberg","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#\/schema\/person\/854d4f70091e136d29968adbfdfcae09"},"headline":"Politics Propels Driver’s License Debate","datePublished":"2015-02-16T18:33:42+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-02T17:25:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/"},"wordCount":368,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg","articleSection":["2015 Legislative Session","Legislature"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/","url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/","name":"Politics Propels Driver's License Debate - New Mexico In Focus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg","datePublished":"2015-02-16T18:33:42+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-02T17:25:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#\/schema\/person\/854d4f70091e136d29968adbfdfcae09"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/021615-steering-wheel_credit-James-Maskell-flickr.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/politics-propels-drivers-license-debate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Politics Propels Driver’s License Debate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/","name":"New Mexico In Focus","description":"Involved, Informed, In-depth Journalism","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/#\/schema\/person\/854d4f70091e136d29968adbfdfcae09","name":"Ashley Rammelsberg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ee436a4bf74db7621ae483e4d75a8406ae4989f9fd16bde54251186b6760f74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ee436a4bf74db7621ae483e4d75a8406ae4989f9fd16bde54251186b6760f74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ee436a4bf74db7621ae483e4d75a8406ae4989f9fd16bde54251186b6760f74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ashley Rammelsberg"},"url":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/author\/arammelsberg\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5013"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17106,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5013\/revisions\/17106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}