FR Exclusive: Jeb answers questions about his support of drivers licenses for undocumented workers

Jeb's emails to FR poster, summer | April 6, 2004 | Jeb Bush

[summer]

Note to FR, from summer:

FYI -- I am posting here below: (1) an email I sent to Gov Bush today, (2) his email response to me, and (3) another email response he directed to me, and you, from his office.

As most people here know (because I wrote about it at length on FR), I previously had a long dialogue with Gov Bush about education, via email. And, at times, I have emailed him about issues of concern to people on FR.

Consequently, this is another exclusive for you.

summer

-----------------------------------------------

Email #1, from me to Gov Bush, today:

-----Original Message-----

From: [summer]
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 3:11 PM
To: Jeb Bush
Subject: FR person's fax to you

FR Person's fax to you

Gov Bush, I'm sending a copy of this to you, as suggested in the headline, so that if you want to respond online, to the people reading it, let me know and I will post it for you. [summer]

---------------

Email #2, from Gov Bush to me, in response to above:

----- Original Message -----

From: Jeb Bush
To: [summer]
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 6:54 PM
Subject: RE: FR person's fax to you

[summer], I will get [my office] to respond to you.

Jeb

----------------------------------------

Email #3, directed by Gov Bush to me and you, from his office, to all here:

----- Original Message -----

From: [Gov Bush's office]
To: 'Jeb Bush'; [summer]
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 7:25 PM
Subject: RE: FR person's fax to you

[summer] --

I hope the below Q&A is helpful. Please let me know if you need anything else.

Best,

[Gov Bush's office]

------------------------------------------

Florida Safe Driving Act

[1] Why give driver licenses to undocumented aliens?

Florida has no power over immigration and naturalization issues, but it does have a duty to protect the safety of its citizens. Allowing Florida’s more than 400,000 illegal aliens to obtain a driver license under very strict conditions will increase safety on our roads and highways. It will boost compliance with Florida’s auto registration and insurance laws.

Also, a separate provision in the bill makes it easier for people with visas to renew their Florida driver licenses. Many individuals from outside the country visit Florida annually for an extended period of time. The new law allows them to renew their licenses every two years, rather than having it automatically expire every time they leave the country.

[2]Why wouldn’t the state just deport the aliens once they have verified their identity?

Under Federal law, no state has the power to deport anyone; it is exclusively the domain of the Federal government.

[3]What does the bill require?

This bill creates some of the highest verification standards in the country. It has more than 15 requirements for approval, and it requires the consulates to provide the applicant’s documentation to the state of Florida.

Aliens would be required to:

Ø show an identification card with digital image that has been produced with standards that would prevent counterfeiting;

Ø provide a second form of identification;

Ø submit fingerprints to the state; and

Ø agree to a criminal background check from their country of origin, the state of Florida and the United States.

The bill creates a mechanism for Florida to work with foreign consulates to approve a stringent means by which to verify the alien’s identity and ensure the consulate is not issuing a duplicate ID. Any consulate that cannot meet these verification standards will not be able to participate in the program.

Among the requirements consulates must show:

Ø documentation that the applicant has not been convicted, or is wanted of a crime equal to a felony in his home country;

Ø a certified copy of the applicant’s official driving record from home country;

Ø certification that the form of identification is legitimate;

Ø certification that the underlying documents used to issue identification are legitimate; and

Ø certification that the home country has security system in place to prevent multiple issuance of identification cards to the same individual.

[4] Who does this bill not apply to?

Aliens from countries on the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism are prohibited from applying, as are those who are subject to an order of deportation. Felons cannot apply nor can aliens who cannot establish presence in the state for at least six months in the past five years.

[5] How does this differ from California law?

First, California law did not exclude applicants from the list of countries maintained by the U.S. Department of State as state sponsors of terrorism. In addition, California did not require state and national criminal background checks, nor did it provide procedures in conjunction with foreign consulates to verify identity and criminal backgrounds with an applicant’s home country.

[6] Where will the licenses be valid?

The licenses are valid in Florida only, for two years. They will have a distinct look from standard driver licenses.

[7]How will the bill be implemented?

Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will be responsible for adopting stringent procedures and coordinating with the consulates to ensure verifications of identity and background history of aliens. Consulates will have to provide certifications of the processes they have in place to establish identity of their citizens who apply. If a consulate does not meet these standards, their citizens will be prohibited from applying.

[8]What are the benefits of issuing the licenses?

First and foremost, this bill promotes safety by requiring that aliens pass driving tests before they get on the road. It will also boost compliance with Florida’s auto registration and insurance laws. Increasing the number of insured drivers is an enormous benefit to all on the road. Currently, a licensed driver who gets into an auto accident with an unlicensed alien has no means to recover damages against the uninsured alien.

There are also law enforcement benefits; a database of licensed drivers helps law enforcement verify the identity of a driver who is pulled over. Unlicensed, undocumented aliens currently are not part of this database.

[summer]

I know there has been heated discussion on this topic today, so I hope the info above is helpful in furthering an intelligent debate based on actual facts.

I also realize the above info may not answer all your questions, so if you have other questions, please post on this thread, and I will do my best to obtain answers for you.

Finally, I trust people here will at least READ the above information that Gov Bush has taken the time to share with you. IMO, not every governor would take the time to provide this information to you, and I am more than happy to post it for him. He is still my favorite governor.

Thanks, summer :)

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[summer]

FYI.

[ambrose]

He isn't saying anything that wasn't said previously by Gray Davis.

[ErnBatavia]

Thanks Summer...I'll have to absorb this a little later and compare with the similar situation with Arnold out here in California.

[summer]

FYI.

[baltodog]

"Florida has no power over immigration and naturalization issues"...

BOOM!!! There's the problem!!!

Let the states decide!!!

Everything else is irrelevant. If you disagree, feel free to live next door to an illegal family...

[summer]

He isn't saying anything that wasn't said previously by Gray Davis.

See question #5 re CA.

[summer]

Thanks Summer...

You're welcome, ErnBatavia. Thanks for your post. It is a lot to absorb, and I will be reading it again and thinking about it more, too.

[Jennifer in Florida]

Thanks for the info. I do agree on the insurance angle.. if this helps get uninsured drivers insured, that would be a good thing for all of us.

[summer]

FYI.

[wku man]

Great Googamooga! With friends like these...

Has every elected Pubbie in this nation lost his/her backbone? Have they completely forgotten the difference between right and wrong? Or is everything these days about getting re-elected, or elected to higher office? This has me ready to recycle my dinner.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[summer]

Thanks for your post, Jennifer. I appreciate that you took the time to read this info from Gov Bush. :)

[summer]

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

LOL...did you actually read it? If so, what question would like to ask Gov Bush?

[summer]

FYI.

[Miss Marple]

Thanks, summer. With all of the requirements, it seems to me that very few illegals will be getting licenses, anyway.

[Libertina]

Thank you again, Summer
& Governor Bush.
Cyber, a ping please. We have an (almost ;) direct line to Governor Bush, let's give him some feed back. :)

[EllaMinnow]

thank you, summer.

When I saw that Gary Fineout wrote the Miami.com article I knew that it would be skewed against Governor Bush, so I avoided the thread with its over-the-top reactions from non-Floridians.
Thank you for taking the time to write to him and give him the chance to clarify.

[summer]

let's give him some feed back. :)

Exactly right! Thanks, Libertina. :)

[livius]

I would like to see some kind of insurance requirement.

Why couldn't illegal immigrants post a bond if they want a license?

[summer]

Thank you for taking the time to write to him and give him the chance to clarify.

My pleasure, redlipstick. You make good points. I realize it is quite rare that people in office have an opportunity to speak directly, without someone else's slant to deal with. So, a big thank you to FR, too.

[summer]

Good question. Thanks for your post #20, livius.

[azhenfud]

"Aliens would be required to:

Ø show an identification card with digital image that has been produced with standards that would prevent counterfeiting;

Ø provide a second form of identification;

Ø submit fingerprints to the state; and

Ø agree to a criminal background check from their country of origin, the state of Florida and the United States."


And Jeb's gonna suddenly require this of 400,000 Illegaliens? ROTFLOL! ROTFLOL!

[summer]

Re your post #16 - I think you're right. Thanks, Miss Marple.

[txdoda]

Under Federal law, no state has the power to deport anyone; it is exclusively the domain of the Federal government.

LOL.......Under Federal Law it is ILLEGAL for illegals to work in th USA.......so WHY would Jeb Bush (or any governor) want to Aid & Abet the illegals that are here ????

(any mention of any Federal Laws Jeb will *overlook* for citizens ??)

[summer]

so WHY

I think he has genuinely tried to explain his position here.

[expatpat]

They will have a distinct look from standard driver licenses.

This is a key issue for me. It is quite different from Gray Davis' approach (and Arnold's thinking as far as I know).

[summer]

RE your post #23 - You know, as a public school teacher, I can tell you there is a lot required in terms of ID for a person to teach (or volunteer) in a FL public school. So, I am not rolling on the floor laughing, as you are, because the state does require a lot of ID from some people, including those in public education.

[Miss Marple]

Attention! If those are the requirements, why do you think very many illegals will even apply?

[Petronski]

...under very strict conditions...

Barbra Streisand

[summer]

Re your post #27 - IMHO, I think this goes to a security issue here, too.

[freekitty]

I was wondering what powers the states do have or is everything in the hands of the Feds?

[Libertina]

I got a driver's license when I lived overseas - of course I wasn't an illegal and they would have arrested me and deported me if I was caught...

That being said, atleast there will be background checks and decent photos. Also, the fingerprinting is an excellent idea. (I didn't have to do that in Asia, but there was no terrorist thread at the time.) I am concerned about these License ID's being used for illegal voting, though. Even one illegal vote means an American citizen has had their right taken away.

It is better than nothing, I can see that honest effort was made in putting this bill together. It seems shameful though, that we as a country have so lost control that we cannot arrest people who are here illegally. It makes us look like weak schmucks, and the rest of the world acts upon it.

[Iscool]

"Florida has no power over immigration and naturalization issues"...

Seems to me the State of Florida does have the power to arrest a "Federal" criminal and hold the criminal until the Feds arrive...Sounds like a cop-out to me...

[summer]

I was wondering 'what powers the states do have' or is everything in the hands of the Feds?

in terms of....could you be a little more specific here? Thanks, freekitty. :)

[summer]

I am concerned about these License ID's being used for illegal voting, though

See post #27.

[azhenfud]

Pardon, but these are ILLEGALS who've already shown a propensity to disregard law - both state and federal.
Why would you or Gov. Bush think they would even try to comply with so many OTHER requirements?

[summer]

See post #32 - I think you are both asking the same question here.

[summer]

Re your post #37 - Because they want to eventually become citizens? I am just guessing. I think there are illegals who want to become legal. No?

[Vigilanteman]

If it was up to me, we could cure the problem with states and localities pandering to illegal aliens overnight. When the census is taken, every person counted would have to declare their legal status. Those who refuse to answer or who answer yes, but fail to produce a valid resident permit when asked would be considered illegal immigrants.

Their numbers would be doubled and subtracted from the reported population of the area. So when reapportionment, government funding and other goodies come around, areas with illegal immigrants would be penalized rather than rewarded. Big states like California, Illinois, New York, Texas and Flordia would probably lose congressional seats. Rural backwaters like Oklahoma, Mississippi and Indiana would probably gain seats.

Once illegal immigrant pandering ceases to be fashionable, so would illegal immigration.

[azhenfud]

It's a shame I can't type faster. Re: my #37 - you and I must be seeing the same holes in "the plan".

[ETERNAL WARMING]

I do agree on the insurance angle.. if this helps get uninsured drivers insured, that would be a good thing for all of us.


They can't afford insurance on their wages. So what's next? Picking our pockets once again for a new insurance subsidy?

Get real, Jeb.

[Libertina]

So we will design, set up and produce special ID for people wo have broken the law, and we will know who they are each time they show ID, but then everyone ignores it and goes about their business... odd. I understand that troublesome issues are being addressed in part, but if we got rid of the main issue, wouldn't lots of the troublesome ancillary problems disappear?

[azhenfud]

That's a good reply, but honestly, would you think they'll "jump through" these new hoops to spend money on auto insurance? documents? taxes? fees? when they've avoided the existing ones for so long?

By not doing anything for so long, my guess is many will opt for the cheaper way out.

BTW, who's implying these have a shot at citizenship by obtaining a DL? is that part of "the plan"?

[summer]

but if we got rid of the main issue, wouldn't lots of the troublesome ancillary problems disappear?

My main question is somewhat along those lines, in that I am disturbed by seeing people having to pick fruit all day for a living, when we have machines that can do much of that work. Couldn't we build more of those machines, affording some people better jobs, and thereby lessen this dependency on illegal undocumented workers, especially in this new age of terrorism?

[summer]

Re your post #44 - Good questions, all. Thanks.

[baltodog]

Illegal is illegal.

Let's start registering murderers and rapists instead of following through with justice. As long as they are registered, I don't see why there should be any problems.

What is the point of me teaching my kids to obey the law?

They're illegal immigrants. They shouldn't be here. Period. Get them the hell out.

[summer]

They can't afford insurance on their wages.

So - how do they afford insurance on their [low] wages? Good question. Thanks, EW.

[summer]

They're illegal immigrants. They shouldn't be here. Period.

Thanks for your comments, baltodog.

[summer]

who's implying these have a shot at citizenship

I would also like to know more about how foreigners become citizens. And, are there in fact some illegals who want to become legal citizens? I would think so. What are the obstacles for those people in becoming legal?