Driving in a new immigrant destination: migrant rights and state- level policy JULIE ­ S T EWAR T ­ A ND ­ KEN ­ J AME SON

Driver license policy plays the national stage During the seventh Democratic presidential debate on October 30, 2007, in Philadelphia,­ immigration­ took­ center­ stage.­ At­ issue­was­whether­ the­ candidates­ supported­the­state-­level­provision­of­driver­licenses­to­undocumented­workers.­ While­five­of­the­seven­candidates­said­they­supported­this­measure,­controversy­ swirled­ around­ Senator­ Hillary­ Clinton’s­ response.­ When­ asked­ whether­ she­ supported­then­New­York­Governor­Eliot­Spitzer’s­driver­license­proposal,­she­ noted­its­necessity,­given­the­Bush­administration’s­failure­ to­pass­comprehensive­ immigration­ reform.­While­ Clinton­ suggested­ this­ might­ not­ be­ the­ best­ action for a governor to take, she elaborated that she did

.­.­.­understand­the­sense­of­real­desperation,­[and­was]­trying­to­get­a­handle­ on­this.­Remember,­in­New­York­we­want­to­know­who’s­in­New­York.­We­ want­people­to­come­out­of­the­shadows.­[Spitzer’s]­making­an­honest­effort­ to­do­it.