One of my plans with this blog is to hold candidates and campaigns accountable for what they say. So from time to time, I'm going to be fact-checking their words.

If you notice any falsehoods, half-truths or misleading rhetoric emanating from political campaigns in Maine, please note them in a comment here, or send me an e-mail at kwack@pressherald.com. I'll at least take a look at all of them.

Today's fact-checker is about Dean Scontras' recent op-ed, published in the Portsmouth Herald, arguing that Maine has become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. Scontras, for those who don't know, is running against Charlie Summers for the Republican nomination in Maine's First Congressional District.

Scontras wrote in the op-ed: "We don't know how many illegal aliens are currently in Maine. We do know that we have issued more than 5,300 driver's licenses to people who do not have a Social Security number. We can assume that most, if not all of them, are in the United States illegally."

I asked Don Cookson, spokesman for the Maine Secretary of State's Office, which includes the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, about the accuracy of these assertions.

Cookson stated in an e-mail that there are more than 5,000 motor-vehicle records that do not include a valid Social Security number. But he said that out of that group, only 2,645 records are for current, active driver's licenses. The other records, he said, include people with out-of-state licenses who get convicted of a driving violation in Maine, but whose Social Security number has not been recorded by Maine authorities. The records also include people who have scheduled a driving exam, but whose Social Security numbers have not been recorded, because they don't yet have a license.

Regarding the 2,645 driver's licenses that do not list a valid Social Security number, Cookson described two scenarios for how this could happen with people who are in this country legally. First, he said, some international students may be here on a proper visa, but also be ineligible for a Social Security number. Second, he said that people who are visiting the country legally but not working may be ineligible for a Social Security number.

As a result, Cookson said that it's not safe to assume, as Scontras asserted, that most of these 5,000-plus motor-vehicle records represent people who are in the United States illegally.

– Kevin Wack

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