Governor To Abandon License Plan

Governor Spitzer has decided to abandon his plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, officials familiar with the decision told the Associated Press last night.

The governor is due to meet this morning with New York's congressional delegation, many of whom have openly opposed the program. Debate over the issue has spilled over into the presidential campaign of Senator Clinton. The governor's office signaled to New York lawmakers yesterday that the morning of the meeting, he will say he is shelving the plan, and that immigration is a federal issue to be handled by Washington, according to congressional aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Last month, Spitzer had sought to salvage the license effort by striking a deal with the Department of Homeland Security to create three separate types of state driver's licenses.