Catholics, the MCLU and Driver Licenses for Illegals.

The AP is reporting that the MCLU, The Roman Catholic Diocese and several immigrants and civil rights groups are planning a press conference in the State House to oppose the Governor's plan to make Maine driver licenses more secure.

I know the Pope recently added some new sins. I don't recall driver licenses being on the list.

The unholy alliance is the result of a letter sent by Governor Baldacci to Secretary Chertoff promising to fix a few "flaws" in Maine's licensing procedures.

The following is what the Governor has agreed to:

The Governor will submit legislation today that will limit state credentials to U.S. citizens or to others who can establish their legal presence in the country. In addition, the legislation will make the following changes to the process of issuing state credentials:

Maine will enter into an agreement with USCIS and utilize the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program to verify DHS documents presented by non-citizens. Maine will set the term for any license that it issues to lawfully present non-citizens so that the license’s term expires when the alien’s legal status ends. Maine will commit to looking into the most cost-effective way to ensure that customers do not have more than one driver’s license or identification card already issued by the state, such as facial recognition or similar technology.

Maine will also change its driver’s license procedures so that photographs are taken at the beginning of the process so that images are captured even if applications are not completed in their entirety.

The Bishop is expected to announce extended confession hours for the 80% of Catholics who disagree with the position of the Diocese.