The laughably and ironically nicknamed Free State (lose the r and it would be more accurate) is already one of only 8 states that allow illegal aliens to obtain drivers licenses. Several local governments already allow illegal aliens to vote in local elections. In-state college tuition is on the table too, and with an open-borders panderer like Martin O’Malley in the governor’s mansion, it was only a matter of time until he tried to take Maryland in the same direction that Eliot Spitzer has been trying to take New York by creating a two-tiered drivers license system for illegal aliens.

The administration of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is drawing up plans to issue separate driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants and legal residents to comply with new federal security regulations, a proposal that could become a focus in the debate over illegal immigration in Maryland.

Top state officials began briefing lawmakers last week on a two-tiered licensing system similar to one that New York Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer (D) proposed last fall but was forced to scuttle after a political battle. New York does not allow illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses, and Spitzer wanted to change that.

Maryland is designing a plan for thousands of immigrants who have been receiving the same licenses as other drivers without having to prove that they are legally in the United States. Maryland is among eight states that allow illegal immigrants to get licenses.

The Casa de Maryland radicals don’t like the plan because it could be used to identify illegal aliens; pro-security types don’t like it because it creates an incentive for illegal aliens to stay in Maryland. The O’Malley administration claims that the two-tiered system is being pushed so that Maryland will come into compliance with the Real ID act. Spitzer tried that trick too.

The question O’Malley and allied lawmakers should answer is, why would illegal aliens obtain the second-class license when they can easily obtain fake versions of the first-class licenses? As long as they can do that, and as long as Maryland retains its broad magnetic sanctuary policies, illegal aliens will continue to flock to the state.

If security is really driving O’Malley’s initiative, (it’s not, but for the sake of argument we’ll play along) the answer isn’t to create a two-tiered license system. The answer is to secure the borders and enforce immigration laws that are already on the books.