Vote ’10: New Mexico Governor Candidates Differ On Undocumented Immigrant Driver’s License Debate

With just a few weeks to go until voters take to the polls for General Elections on November 2nd, candidates for New Mexico’s new governor are in the borderland drumming up support.

Current Lieutenant Governor and Democratic candidate Diane Denish was in southern New Mexico Sunday. She stopped by Las Cruces, Anthony and Mesilla to talk to voters. Dozens of supporters went to a “meet and greet” with the candidate at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building in Anthony that started at 3 PM.

ABC-7 was there and asked Denish about a controversial campaign issue we brought up back in September regarding a state law passed seven years ago under Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration. The law allows undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses.

Her Republican opponent– Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez– released the following statement through her campaign manager on September 7th:

“Susana Martinez is the only gubernatorial candidate who will fight to revoke the tens of thousands of existing licenses issued to illegal immigrants in New Mexico and repeal the law that provided them in the first place.”

Attempts to reach Diane Denish on the day our story first ran were unsuccessful. In an interview during Sunday’s event in Anthony, Denish said the driver’s license law was “passed for good reasons, but it’s been co-opted by criminal elements. We need to repeal that law and start over. On the issue of immigration we need comprehensive federal immigration reform that will address the driver’s license problem.”

Late Sunday Martinez’s camp said Martinez would move to immediately invalidate the driver’s licenses in question if elected. Her campaign staff told ABC-7 Martinez was also in Las Cruces this weekend working with grassroots supporters.