ALBANY – The state’s top Republican leadership unexpectedly split yesterday on the controversial move by Democratic Gov. Spitzer to allow the granting of driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.
State GOP Chairman Joseph Mondello ripped Spitzer for eliminating the requirement that people provide a Social Security number for a driver’s license, and said the Republican Committee today will act on a resolution decrying the move.
But Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno backed Spitzer, saying, “We have hundreds of thousands of aliens here, and I’m not sure it serves the public good to deprive them of their ability to go to school, to go to work, to do the kinds of things you have to do to lead a normal life.” Some fellow Republicans said Bruno, worried about holding his slim majority next year, did not want to alienate Hispanics.