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February 07, 2005
9/11 hijacker used bypass code to obtain California [driver's] license
SACRAMENTO -- The terrorist believed to have flown a hijacked airliner into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, obtained a California driver's license without providing the required Social Security number for identification, officials are acknowledging for the first time.

Nawaf Alhazmi then used that license when he registered for the flight training that enabled him to pilot the doomed airliner.

Alhazmi used a loophole, since closed, in California law that allowed hundreds of thousands of foreign drivers without Social Security numbers to use a generic number in its place. Even some foreign citizens with Social Security numbers skirted the identity check required of U.S. citizens.

Although the process changed a year ago, some of the drivers still have their original licenses... ...a 1994 court decision required the state to also give driver's licenses to qualified applicants, such as foreign students, who had no Social Security number...

184,000 such licenses were issued between 12/2000 and 2/2002.

There are various bills being proposed in other states to tighten or loosen the rules regarding driver's licenses. Rep. Sensenbrenner [R-WI] has authored a bill that would set nationwide standards.

In California, state Sen. Gil Cedillo [D] recently continued his multi-year attempt to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens: "Actors, writers and musicians push for [illegal] immigrant drivers licenses" (commentary here, picture of the ad here.) Security checks would supposedly be performed. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the last such Cedillo bill that was passed, saying the security safeguards weren't stringent enough.

The 9/11 hijackers reportedly had a combined total of 63 driver's licenses from various states, although the exact number is disputed, albeit without providing direct contradictory evidence. Various DMVs across the country have had scandals where employees issued licenses to those without the proper ID; the AP offers a roundup here. Other 9/11 terrorists had driver's licenses from Virginia or Florida. The procedure they used to obtain some licenses is detailed here.

(Same AP report here and here.)

Posted by Lonewacko at February 7, 2005 01:03 AM | TrackBack
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