Somos Un Pueblo Unido Protecting Immigrants' Rights in New Mexico

Somos Un Pueblo Unido 1205 Parkway Dr, Suite B Sante Fe, NM   87507   telephone: 505-424-7832 fax: 505-438-8518 email: somos@rt66.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2006
Contact: Marcela Díaz

Santa Fe, New Mexico - On May 15, 2006, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a New Mexico immigrants’ rights organization, issued a statement responding to newspaper reports that the New York based Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License will finance a billboard depicting 9/11 terrorist Mohammad Atta’s Florida driver’s license with the caption "Don’t License Terrorists, New Mexico."

The statement declared:
"The Coalition for Secure Driver’s License is reportedly targeting New Mexico with this billboard because the Legislature passed a law in 2003 making undocumented immigrants eligible for drivers’ licenses. More than 27,000 immigrants have benefited from the law, and the state has seen a dramatic decrease in the uninsured motorist rate. Moreover, because these immigrants carry a state issued positive form of identification, the driver’s license program continues to enjoy widespread support from key law enforcement officials throughout the state.

The Coalition’s message that we are somehow helping terrorists by licensing immigrants who live, work and drive in New Mexico is not based on facts. It is misleading and clearly xenophobic. Driver's license restrictions based on immigration status would not have prevented the 9/11 hijacking or any other terrorist act in the US. In reality, driver's license databases are the most comprehensive in the country and continue to serve as a tool for law enforcement officials to capture criminals and track terrorists.

The 9/11 Commission never suggested that states deny licenses to undocumented immigrants in part because the 9/11 terrorists all entered the country legally and had obtained their drivers' licenses with legal immigration documents. They also had valid passports with which they could have easily boarded the airplanes. The fact that the 9/11 terrorists had legal licenses actually helped the government trace their movements post attack.

The Coalition is reportedly only targeting states that give licenses to undocumented immigrants. The tie that the Coalition and other anti-immigrant groups continue to make between immigrants (undocumented or not) and terrorism is fallacious and extremely offensive to our community."