NY Gov. Cuomo Signs Bill Granting Driver's Licenses to Illegals

New York state lawmakers passed a bill Monday granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo quickly signed it.

A Democrat-controlled state Senate passed the bill, though all six lawmakers from Long Island nixed it over concerns it could prove politically costly in their swing districts, the New York Post reported.

"We are treating the people who have broken our law, who are criminals" the same as law-abiding citizens, GOP state Sen. Thomas O'Mara raged, the Post reported. "This legislation will lead to more illegal immigration."

Cuomo tossed a last-minute curveball, asking the state's Solicitor General Barbara Underwood to review the measure for possible safety concerns — threatening to veto it if he did not like her assessment, the Post noted. New York's Attorney General Tish James, however, declared the bill legally sound.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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