WASHINGTON - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer surrendered Wednesday in his effort to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The move may quiet some critics, but it spurred Hillary Rodham Clinton to speak out.

Clinton, who has come under fire from other presidential candidates of both parties for her non-committal answers to questions about the license plan, on Wednesday spelled out her position.

“I support Governor Spitzer's decision today to withdraw his proposal,” Sen. Clinton said in a statement. “As president, I will not support driver's licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system.”

Spitzer abandoned his plan in the face of overwhelming opposition and after a private meeting with New York lawmakers in Washington, saying “New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own.”

“It does not take a stethoscope to hear the pulse of New Yorkers on this topic,” he said.

The Democratic governor introduced the plan two months ago with the goal of increased security, safer roads and an opportunity to bring immigrants “out of the shadows.” Opponents charged the scheme would make it easier for would-be terrorists to get identification, and make the country less safe.

The decision is another example of the roadblocks that high-profile immigration reforms have faced this year. Less than five months ago, Congress failed to pass legislation that would legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants and fortify the border with Mexico.

“The federal government has lost control of its borders, has allowed millions of undocumented immigrants to enter our country and now has no solution to deal with it,” Spitzer said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called Spitzer's reversal on the license issue “a good development” and said immigration is a federal issue for which his department has to “ramp up enforcement.”

“What I want to make sure is that states aren't working at cross-purposes with us and enabling the kind of conduct we're enforcing against,” Chertoff told The Associated Press by phone.

Last month, Spitzer sought to salvage the license effort by striking a deal with the Department of Homeland Security to create three distinct types of state driver's licenses: one “enhanced” card that would be as secure as a passport for crossing the border; a second-tier license good for boarding airplanes; and a third marked not valid for federal purposes that would be available to illegal immigrants and others.

The deal with Washington may still be salvaged: while aides to Spitzer said they were still reviewing parts of it, Chertoff said the agreement would “absolutely” still go forward.

About 70 percent of New Yorkers opposed the plan, according to a Siena College poll of 625 registered voters released Tuesday. The poll, conducted Nov. 5-8, had a sampling error margin of 3.9 percentage points.

After meeting privately with the governor, New York Democrats who agreed with him said they understood he had to retreat - but insisted the need for immigration reform would only grow.

“This governor was not defeated by anything other than the hate in this country toward immigrants right now,” said Rep. Jose Serrano, a Bronx Democrat.