Editor,
I read that Gov. Richardson signed legislation into law allowing illegal immigrants to get a state-issued driver's license and also allowing children of illegal immigrants to qualify for resident college tuition. How nice.
Since the Constitution of the United States guarantees me the right to free speech, I am going to exercise that right now.
On Aug. 1, I moved from California with my wife and in-laws to Albuquerque. I was in California since I had emigrated from Canada in June 2002, when I came here legally as a permanent resident.
I went through all of the legal hoops that were required for me to become a permanent resident in the United States. In May 2006, I am eligible for citizenship, after three years of permanent residency, because of my marriage to an American citizen.
On the first day of our arrival in New Mexico, my wife and I went to get a state ID card at the Motor Vehicle Department. By the way, Gov. Richardson, the MVD is a pathetic excuse for a government department. We were told that until we can show we actually live in Albuquerque, we cannot get an ID. We need utility bills to prove this - simply ridiculous. I guess the legal deed to a new house doesn't qualify.
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Now, illegal immigrants are able to get an ID card while my wife and I cannot. Where is the bloody justice in that? Not to mention the idiotic and sarcastic woman at this particular MVD location, who treated us rudely.
I am planning on becoming a secondary mathematics teacher, and I am presently taking two history courses for the fall 2005 term. Next term, I can also only take two courses, because I am not considered a resident until August 2006 and cannot take more than 7 credit hours, or else I will have to pay non-resident tuition.
Is it fair when American citizens and permanent residents have to pay non-resident tuition if they just moved to the state of New Mexico? I don't think so, but apparently Gov. Richardson and his Democratic Party think it is fair for the children of illegal immigrants to benefit from the people of New Mexico. I'm quite sure that if the Republican Party was in power, there would be a similar situation.
Gov. Richardson has to go in the next election. Guess what, Mr. "I-help-illegal-immigrants" Richardson. I will be able to vote in the next state election, and you will most certainly not get my vote, nor those of my entire family.
The Democrats are a laughing stock, just like their Republican counterparts. It is time for a real political alternative to the "duocracy" that has existed for so long in the United States. Nothing ever gets done with these two main parties from what I have seen over the years. I have watched United States politics for a long time, since the days of President Jimmy Carter, so I can make this assessment with some degree of certainty.
When I am eligible to vote next year, I want to vote for a new party that actually gives a damn about the people of this state and great country. I want to vote for competent people at the state and federal level, but they need to have the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing for once.
James Rhodes
UNM student
