1st CD GOP congressional candidate Dean Scontras has an opinion piece in the Portland Press Herald about how Maine deals with illegal immigrants and drivers licenses:

Most Mainers don't realize that our state already issues driver's licenses to people who are in the country illegally.
But the situation is even worse than that. There is no residency requirement.
We give out licenses to people who don't live in Maine -- who never have and never will.
Our policy is so lax and careless that foreign-language publications urge illegals to travel here to get a license.

This issue has become a national one lately, after NY Governor Elliot Spitzer's controversial effort to institute the same type of policy in New York. Scontras describes Maine's policy further:

A legal Maine resident applying for a license must supply a Social Security number.
Illegal aliens need not worry about that. Our policy allows them to enter the number 999-99-9999. If they pass the driving test, they get a license.
We have no idea if they are international fugitives or Hezbollah operatives, because staffers at Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices are not allowed to ask. Under an executive order by Gov. Baldacci, state employees are prohibited from inquiring about the immigration status of anyone applying for welfare benefits or licenses.
The problem is getting worse. In August 2006, there were 3,788 names in the motor vehicle registry with the 999-99-9999 identifier. There are now more than 5,300 such names on the list.

Read the whole article >>