Upstate NY clerk won't give undocumented immigrants licenses even if law passes

A proposed New York State law would allow undocumented immigrants to get a state driver's license with a foreign passport, but the bill has already sparked protest by one county clerk in Upstate New York.

The Driver's License Access and Privacy Act is currently in committee in Albany , and has a tough road through a Republican-controlled Senate ahead of it, according to WGRZ-TV . But that hasn't stopped Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns from calling a press conference and publicly refusing to abide by it should it become law.

"There are editorials encouraging the governor to pass this through executive order. The governor at any time can change those types of laws," Kearns explained. "We're prepared for that."

The Fiscal Policy Institute estimates 265,000 immigrants would get licenses if the law gets signed.

Kearns was rebuked by state politicians from the area, who chastised his decision to take a political stand on the issue.

"My advice to him would be to try and clean up the clerk's office, make that a functioning office before he starts delving into national and state politics," said Assemblyman Sean Ryan (D-Hamburg).

Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes (D- Buffalo ) also issued a statement:

"Unless you are Native American, all of our families were immigrants at some point. They have families no different than ours and need to get to work, medical appointments and school. Driver's licenses would ensure satisfactory knowledge of rules of the road. Research by the New York Immigration Coalition shows that if passed, registration fees, sales taxes and gas taxes would add an estimated $57 million in annual state and county revenues."

"This is a blatant disregard for the rule of law," said Erie County Legislature Majority Leader April N.M. Baskin. "Denying residents the ability to gain formal state identification in defiance of state law will harm our entire community, and perpetuates systemic inequality."

Kearns is not without supporters, however. Assemblyman Robin Schimminger (D-Tonawanda) sent a letter to constituents citing a number of concerns with the proposed law. He feels it will "dilute the validity of all New York State driver's licenses."