Jolene Ivey in the San Francisco Examiner

Md. mulls denying licenses to illegal immigrants

By KATHLEEN MILLER
Mar 19, 2009
Associated Press Writer | 3/19/09 3:40 PM

In an online Spanish language chat room, people from all over the East Coast seek tips on how to get driver's licenses in Maryland even though they don't live there.

Businesses run classified ads in Spanish-language publications in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland urging "undocumented Hispanic friends" to take advantage of the opportunity to get Maryland ID without having to prove they're in the country legally.

In one case, Maryland motor vehicle officials say, 68 different people applying for licenses and IDs gave the same address for an 800-square-foot home in Baltimore.

Maryland is one of just four states _ and the only one east of the Mississippi _ where people don't have to prove they're legal U.S. residents to get driver's licenses. Some lawmakers are pushing to change that this year, arguing that Maryland's rules make it a target for fraud by undocumented people from all over the U.S.

But advocates here and in other states with similar rules _ Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington _ argue that allowing illegal immigrants to get state-issued identification gives police broader databases to use when investigating crimes and increases the rate of auto insurance coverage.

"It makes the streets safer for all of us," said Delegate Jolene Ivey, a Democrat from Prince George's County who supports continued access to Maryland licenses for undocumented residents.

The problem, say officials with Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration, is that they've been overwhelmed with requests for identification appointments as other states have tightened requirements.

A Department of Legislative Services analysis assumed the state issued about 6,700 licenses and ID cards to illegal immigrants in 2008, but cautioned exact statistics are tough to nail down. Between July 2007 and June 2008, the MVA issued roughly 508,000 new licenses and 170,000 ID cards.

State Motor Vehicle Administration Chief John Kuo says the demand has outpaced the state's foreign-born population growth. A toll-free number to book license appointments for non-citizens received 1 million attempted calls from all over the country in its first day of operation last year. The state, which only has 5.6 million residents, now limits hot line access to people calling from Maryland.

"Because of Maryland's status nationally, the number of fraud attempts at Maryland MVA remains a serious challenge," state transportation officials said in written testimony in favor of changing the policy, noting fraud cases shot up 478 percent between 2003 and 2007.

Maryland Delegate Ron George, R-Anne Arundel, says the license policy is cheapening the value of a state ID for other residents. Some states, such as Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma, now require extra proof of identification before they'll license people relocating from states that issue ID to illegal immigrants.

"It's not good," said George, who has twice tried and failed to get the legislature to require state officials to ensure license applicants are in the U.S. legally. "Our residents deserve licenses that are on an even playing field with other states."

George is trying again this year, this time with support from Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and other Democrats.

Advocates for maintaining the current policy, such as Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez and the immigrant advocacy group CASA of Maryland, have attempted to fight fraud on their own. In interviews with Spanish-language publications earlier this year, Gutierrez warned that some ID fraud is a felony.

More important, she told the paper El Comercio, fraud "closes doors for those who actually live in Maryland."

Kim Propeack, a spokeswoman for CASA, says her organization's research found that one of the cheaper firms charges a $150 fee to robocall license hot lines just to get license appointments.

State officials "know there are private companies that are selling appointments, selling in-state addresses, and they have done nothing to combat those companies," Propeack said.

She said scammers even loiter at Motor Vehicle Administration offices, offering to sell Maryland addresses to people from other states.

Propeack said CASA has asked state officials to reach out to foreign-language media and to change its documents to inform people there is no reason to hire anyone to get a license. The group also discourages undocumented immigrants from other states from trying to get Maryland IDs.

"This is a right that has been fought for and obtained by people living in Maryland," Propeack said. "When people call us from other states and ask for information about Maryland licenses, we tell them to go lobby for the right in their home state."

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Read House Bill 387: http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/fnotes/bil_0007/hb0387.pdf

___

On the Net:

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration: http://mva.state.md.us

Jolene Ivey Recognized as the Voice of Reason in the State House.

Jolene Ivey Recognized as the Voice of Reason in the State House. Way to go Jolene!

Eric Hartley: A rare glimpse of reason By ERIC HARTLEY, Staff Writer Published February 26, 2009 On an issue as emotionally charged as immigration, reasoned debate is often in short supply. The extremes tend to shout louder than those in the middle - literally or figuratively. Such was the case yesterday afternoon at a House of Delegates committee hearing on licensing requirements for immigrants. Del. Ron George, R-Arnold, set the stakes by invoking Sept. 11 and "terrorists using nuclear weapons," suggesting that allowing illegal immigrants to have driver's licenses puts the nation at risk of an attack worse than 9/11 - never mind that the 19 hijackers were in the country legally. And one woman submitted a packet of written testimony that included articles with headlines like "Illegal aliens linked to gang rape wave: The crime epidemic no one will talk about?" Rape scares. Now there's a good way to start a civil discussion. "It actually makes me sad. I start to feel like the worst side of people is exposed during discussions like that," Del. Jolene Ivey, D-Prince George's, said before the hearing of the House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis. Ivey has introduced a dose of moderation, proposing a compromise under which Maryland could comply with federal law by verifying immigration status, but still allow people without "proof of legal presence," as the jargon goes, to get some form of driver's license. The better of her two proposals is to give undocumented people what amounts to a second-class driver's license. It would be clearly marked as not acceptable for federal purposes like boarding a plane. With a different design and color than a legal resident's license, it would be easy to spot. Of course, to some critics, writing into law that illegal immigrants can get licenses of any kind amounts to legislating lawlessness. The push for proof of legal presence comes as Maryland and every other state scramble to comply with Real ID, a 2005 federal law requiring states to establish legal presence before issuing IDs, among many other things. The risk of not complying is that, perhaps as early as next year, Marylanders couldn't enter a federal building or board a plane with a driver's license. Ivey's proposals aren't perfect - George said other states that have tried such "tiered" systems have abandoned them - but at least they represent a step toward the middle. Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration supports a bill introduced by George that flatly requires proof of legal presence for any state-issued identification. Ironically, that system - while it might make people feel good, having struck a blow for law and order - might actually make us less safe. Ivey's husband, Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn Ivey, told the committee that prosecutors and police want everyone to have state-issued identification because it helps solve crimes. He said the Motor Vehicle Administration database is one of the first places detectives look in homicide and sex assault cases and warned of "unintended consequences" of changing the system. Isn't it better to have everyone, including illegal immigrants, documented with their pictures in a state database than to have thousands of people off the grid, yet still driving and, in some cases, committing crimes?

Tech-savvy Jolene Ivey "seriously bummed out"

Virus concerns block Md. lawmakers' Facebook, MySpace access

By Gadi Dechter | gadi.dechter@baltsun.com

12:02 PM EST, February 6, 2009

Some tech-savvy members of the General Assembly were "seriously bummed out" this morning to learn that their computer access to Facebook and MySpace has been blocked because of virus concerns on the legislature's computer network.

Office of Legislative Information Systems Director Michael Gaudiello today confirmed that lawmakers were notified of the block yesterday and that it was because of a "significant increase in viruses and malware affecting the Maryland General Assembly computers." The block pertains to all computers running on the legislature's network, including the laptops lawmakers often use to surf the Web during bill hearings.

This morning, Gaudiello told The Baltimore Sun that there has been so far no damage or loss of data associated with the dozens of viruses coming from links hosted on the social-networking Web sites, but that the action was taken as a precaution. The ban was first reported on Legum's New Line, a political blog.

"I wouldn't say I'm devastated, but I am, like, seriously bummed out," said Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George's County Democrat. Ivey said she sometimes used Facebook to communicate with constituents while in Annapolis.

Related links

• Maryland Politics: No more Facebooking in the legislature

Del. Curt Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat and the unofficial Wikipedia-keeper in the General Assembly, had a more pungent reaction: "It's a dark day," Anderson said. "I've personally been contacted by half a dozen [lawmakers] wanting to know how to get [Facebook] back."

Gaudiello said DLS is monitoring additional sites for virus activity and may be blocking those, but the user-generated encyclopedia Wikipedia is still available. "At least there's somewhere we can go," said Anderson, shaking his head mournfully.

Ivey Fights to Protect Neighborhoods

Community calls for public hearing on natural gas plant

Residents say facility could pose safety hazard, decrease home values

by Elahe Izadi | Staff Writer

E-mail this article \ Print this article

Leah L. Jones/The Gazette Chillum resident Imani Kazana stands in a neighbor's yard on 21st Place on Saturday near the potential site of a liquefied natural gas plant on Chillum Road, directly behind her across the street, that will be 800 feet from her home and closer to this one. Featured Jobs DENTAL ADMIN. & RECEPTIONIST Dental Office is seeking FT Dental Administrator & Receptionist. More ACCT/SALES REP Open position for P/T & F/T Acct./Sales Rep. Competitive More America is changing, get the skills to change: Quality Training since 1983, WIA, VA approved More CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES Rockville based services co. in its 75th year seeking FT More See All Featured Ads

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Some Chillum residents have fought the building of a proposed natural gas plant in their neighborhood for years and now they're seeking a public hearing on the matter.

Washington Gas has proposed building a liquefied natural gas plant on a 21-acre site it owns on Chillum Road near Queens Chapel Road. It is less than a block from the West Hyattsville Metro Station.

Washington Gas submitted a portfolio plan to the Maryland Public Service Commission in November, which included building the plant on the Chillum site. The PSC reviews such sites to determine if they meet federal safety regulations.

Imani Kazana, president of Avondale/North Woodridge Citizens' Association and a founding member of the Washington Gas Watch Alliance, said residents want the PSC to pay close attention to the proposed plant, which is one part of the company's 23-page plan that analyzes the company's customer demand and natural gas capacity through 2013.

"We want everything to be very transparent, and not just sort of rubber stamp what they submit," she said. "We feel if it's put more out in a public way and have an opportunity to make our case, some modifications may be required by the PSC in this plan."

According to the plan, the plant was originally scheduled to be in service by fiscal 2013. Washington Gas selected the Chillum site because it meets the load requirements and there's existing infrastructure from an old gas plant in place. There would be no additional costs in land purchase and it's the most cost effective option for Washington Gas, according to the plan.

Kazana said residents are worried primarily about the safety risk of having the plant so close to their homes.

"The dangers from the vapors and so forth, and possible fires starting because of meeting up with a flame somewhere and igniting offsite, that can go up to 3 or 4 miles," she said.

In the past, Washington Gas representatives have said LNG facilities exist near high-populated areas, like in downtown Baltimore, and the industry has a very good safety record. They have also said Washington Gas needs to build the Chillum plant in order to meet forecasted increased demand.

Residents also worry that the plant could decrease home values, which has caused some neighbors to move over the past four years, Kazana said. The site is 800 feet from Kazana's house, and she had just finished building a $100,000 addition onto her home when she found out about the proposal five years ago.

"Nobody wants to lose the value of your home because somebody else has plopped some God-awful thing next door," she said.

Washington Gas spokesman Ruben Rodriguez said the company can't comment on the proposed plant because it's the center of an on-going legal matter. A federal judge is reviewing the legality of a county ordinance which barred the company from building the plant, and a decision could come in March.

Del. Jolene Ivey (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly opposes the plant and plans to submit legislation to the Maryland General Assembly this session that would require the PSC to use U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development safety standards in approving such facilities.

There is no PSC public hearing scheduled on the plan yet.

Ivey Friend confirmed as attorney general

Holder confirmed as attorney general

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Senate confirmed Eric Holder as attorney general Monday, voting 75-21 to place him in charge of the Department of Justice.

Eric Holder is a former federal prosecutor and served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration.

Holder, 58, is a former federal prosecutor and served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration. His confirmation makes him the first African-American confirmed to the post, though he held the job on an acting basis in early 2001.

Jolene on Michele Obama

THE OBAMA INAUGURATION

First family aims to keep life as normal as possible

The Obama Family 6 years later

Tuesday, January 20, 2009
It was a small gesture, but it said so much.
Barack Obama interrupted an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters to tell his wife she had lipstick on her teeth. Immediately, Michelle Obama bared her teeth and rubbed at them with her finger.
We were charmed, first that the president-elect alerted his wife to the lipstick malfunction and second, that the future first lady, a graduate of Princeton University and then Harvard Law School, would so unselfconsciously tend to it on national TV.
It's the sort of moment that illustrates what the Obamas have said from the beginning: that they're normal, down-to-earth people. But can the Obamas and their two daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha, preserve any semblance of normalcy in their lives once they move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
In that same interview with Walters, the Obamas vowed that their children would do chores around the White House, including cleaning after the impending first puppy. Michelle Obama, raised in a tight-knit, working-class Chicago family, has promised the girls they can have sleepovers in the White House.
Beyond the confines of the White House, though, looms the public spotlight. The Obamas have little control over that, and it can burn, as Chelsea Clinton learned when she became the object of skits on "Saturday Night Live."
The Obamas appear to be wary of the glare of media attention. The family often appears on stage, but the girls' face time with reporters has been limited. The president-elect has said he regretted letting the girls speak to NBC's Maria Menounos when "Access Hollywood" showed up at Malia's birthday party.
What the kids said was harmless enough — Sasha revealed her dad likes "minty gum" and Malia chided him for shaking hands with kids ("Just wave or say hi") — but Obama made it clear that he doesn't like the idea of opening windows into his children's lives.
Still, Sasha's chewing gum insight is eloquent: These girls spend enough time with their father to know what kind of gum he chews. That's not always the case with politicians.
Children add warmth to a White House, as the commander in chief's humanity has long been underscored by images of his children: Caroline and John-John Kennedy cavorting on a swing set, Susan Ford having her high school prom at the White House, Amy Carter reading a book during a formal dinner, Chelsea Clinton playing with Socks, her cat. The nation can look forward to smiling at photos of Malia and Sasha Obama practicing piano in the White House and cavorting with their dog.
Michelle Obama, who turned 45 three days ago, was a Chicago lawyer named Michelle Robinson when she met her future husband in 1989.
On the strength of an impressive first year at Harvard Law School and an engaging introduction memo, Barack Obama was hired as a summer intern by the law firm of Sidley Austin and Michelle, just a year out of Harvard Law School, was assigned to be his mentor. It was love at first sight for him, but Michelle has said she originally resisted Barack's advances, wanting to keep the relationship professional.
Eventually she agreed to go on a date with him after hearing him speak at a community function. The couple married on Oct. 3, 1992.
Michelle Obama left a job as a Chicago hospital executive to help her husband run for office. She has said that she'll carve a niche for herself in Washington, but that her priority will be her children.
In an article for U.S. News and World Report before the election, she wrote, "I will work daily on the issues closest to my heart: helping working women and families, particularly military families. But, as my girls reminded me in Denver, even as First Lady, my No. 1 job is still to be Mom. At 7 and 10, our daughters are young. My first priority will be to ensure they stay grounded and healthy, with normal childhoods — including homework, chores, dance, and soccer."
Her stated goals as an advocate in Washington will fall in line with that priority. She told Ebony magazine she'd like the government to focus on helping families by, for example, improving the nation's health care system.
As a professional woman who now will be a stay-at-home mom, Michelle Obama has won some fans in both camps.
"Women everywhere are excited about Michelle Obama as first lady," Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, told Newsday.
"She's engaging and smart and outspoken on issues that are important to her. She has been clear that the issues of working women, and especially working moms, will be high on her agenda as first lady."
"America's vision of the stereotypical June Cleaver stay-at-home mom is about to get a shake-up," Jolene Ivey, founder of Mocha Moms, an organization for stay-a-home mothers of color, wrote in a commentary for cnn.com.
She praised the new first lady for "deciding to take time off from her career to focus on getting her children acclimated to life in the White House" and also for focusing attention on family issues.
"She'll be in the position to bring light to issues and organizations that are currently working in obscurity, and energize their efforts," Ivey wrote.
She's also be in a position to draw fire. Every word she utters will be scrutinized.
She told CBS's Katie Couric during the campaign: "I want to be as 'me' as I can be so that people, you know, if they vote for Barack, they know exactly who their first lady will be, all the good and bad. So pretty much what people see is what they get. ... I am a mother and a professional and a wife. And I know the struggles of trying to balance work, life, family."
That balancing act, never easy, is about to get a lot harder for Michelle Obama.
Austin community activist Eugene Sepulveda, who worked on the Obama campaign, says he has met the new first lady on a couple of occasions and thinks she can handle the challenge.
"She's completely authentic," he says. "Seems to me she and the girls will help President-elect Obama stay well-grounded."

Glenn and Jolene with Barack and Michelle in Denver

State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey and his wife, Del. Jolene Ivey, will attend, the latter as an elected delegate for Obama, said the former's spokesman, Ramon V. Korionoff.

Korionoff said the state's attorney initially planned to stay home with his children while his wife attended but decided that the moment was too historic to be missed. Korionoff said Glenn Ivey was an early supporter of Obama and had been a classmate of the presidential hopeful's wife, Michelle, at Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

"After some reflection, he realized that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Korionoff said.