Pedro, an undocumented immigrant whose full name is being withheld here to protect him from deportation, wishes he could obtain a valid New York state driver’s license.

The license would allow Pedro – a Norwood resident since he arrived from the small Mexican town of Santa Ana 10 years ago – to deliver pizzas for a living, a more lucrative position than simply preparing them, which he’s been doing since the turn of the century.

But there’s a problem. Undocumented immigrants aren’t allowed to obtain a valid driver’s license in the Empire State. Governor Eliot Spitzer set out to change that, making it one of his campaign promises when courting immigrant support before his landslide victory in 2006.

In September, Spitzer delivered on that promise, putting forth a plan that would allow undocumented immigrants to get the same driver’s license as everybody else. But after anti-immigrant groups and politicians railed against the plan, Spitzer backed off and changed the plan dramatically – to the chagrin of New York’s strong and vocal immigrant population.

The new licensing plan – which Spitzer calls "the most secure and most comprehensive license system in the country" – would create three separate licensing options, only one of which, the "traditional New York driver’s license," would be available to undocumented immigrants.

The traditional license would not be valid for federal purposes, meaning holders couldn’t use it to enter federal facilities (like VA Hospitals and courthouses), board airplanes or cross borders.

Spitzer said his revised plan, which Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff supports, will allow New York to comply with the Real ID act of 2005. The act, which has been widely criticized by civil liberties groups, would preclude federal agents from accepting state licenses for the official purposes mentioned above.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which created a Web site (www.realnightmare.org) to combat implementation of the act, 17 states have passed legislation rejecting the Real ID plan. Spitzer’s original licensing proposal, if adopted, would have made it 18.

Immigrants feel betrayed

Many immigrant groups that voiced strong support for Spitzer’s original plan say they now feel betrayed. Javier Valdes, head of the New York Immigration Coalition, told the Spanish-language daily El Diario last week that the traditional license, which will say "Not valid for federal purposes," will create "a stigma that will facilitate discrimination against immigrants."

Even though the plan would allow undocumented immigrants an opportunity to drive legally, many immigrants fear the license would become a "Scarlet letter." Others said there wouldn’t be any change at all because immigrants simply wouldn’t apply for the new license for fear of being rounded up for deportation.

Two Fridays ago, Spitzer reached out to the editors of ethnic and community newspapers, including the Norwood News (Spitzer once was chairman of the board of Mosholu Preservation Corporation, the nonprofit which publishes this newspaper) to explain his new proposal and ask for their support. The meeting was organized by the Independent Press Association-New York.

Spitzer said discrimination would not be an issue because, for one, it’s illegal, and two, other U.S. citizens and legal residents would opt for the traditional license, so it wouldn’t just be undocumented immigrants carrying them for identification purposes. To drive home his point, the governor said he would get a traditional license himself. He added that the expense of a Real ID might persuade legal residents to choose the cheaper traditional license option.

Most editors were skeptical of the plan, mainly because of the discrimination issue.

"[Immigrants] were hopeful at first. [But now] he’s backing up," said Abu Taher, the executive director of the city’s largest Bangladeshi newspaper, Bangla Patrika. "He’s trying to make all sides happy and it’s not going to work." He added, "If any federal workers see [the traditional license] they will understand that person is an immigrant."

In the northwest Bronx, local immigrants panned Spitzer’s new plan as ineffective and discriminatory.

Djounedou "TiTi" Titikpina, a prince in his native Togo, said he moved to the United States seven years ago "to enjoy the democracy." For the past couple of years, he’s worked to organize African immigrants around rights issues in the Bronx.

When Spitzer’s first plan came out, Titikpina said he liked it, but knew it wouldn’t go over well with anti-immigrant groups. "I told myself, ‘Americans are not going to agree with this.’"

Titikpina and others said that before Sept. 11, 2001, people would have been more receptive to undocumented immigrants getting equal driver’s licenses and legal residency. Now, he said, everyone thinks any pro-immigrant reform is automatically a security risk.

‘In the shadows’

At Masjid-Hefaz, a mosque on East 198th Street in Bedford Park, a group of North African immigrants gathered for prayer on a weekday afternoon. They were all well aware of the driver’s license issue. As Titikpina says, "Africans love to drive."

Bashir Souley, an immigrant from Niger, said it would be great for everyone to get licenses, but that it would be wrong to classify someone as an illegal immigrant, which he said would happen with Spitzer’s new plan.

Another immigrant, who declined to give his name, was even more blunt. "I thought [the original plan] was a smart move," he said. "In terms of security, it’s easier to track criminals and terrorists if everyone has the same ID. But the new plan is racial discrimination. It’s a stupid plan and will keep everyone in the shadows."

Pedro doesn’t live in fear of deportation, but knows of people who have been singled out and sent back home. He said the biggest problem with the new licensing plan is that most undocumented immigrants simply don’t trust police and government not to discriminate against them. "[Having a traditional license] is the same as not having any papers because it isolates and identifies you."