New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday dropped a controversial plan to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants because of overwhelming opposition to the policy

“I’ve concluded that New York state cannot conduct this program on its own,” Spitzer said at a Capitol Hill news conference. “It does not take a stethoscope to hear the pulse of New Yorkers on this topic.”

Spitzer’s plan sparked a national debate over the extension of certain privileges to illegal immigrants and haunted Democratic presidential front-runner New York Sen. Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail.

(Source: Reuters)