That’s a fair point, but that still doesn’t preclude that we now have to carry our passports with us all the time.
My mom speaks with a thick Irish Brogue, she’s been a citizen since 1960. If she blows by a red-light, Is it far-fetch to assume the officer would take her in because she’ll only be carrying a driver’s license on her? Which is no proof of citizenship?
Look, I would have no problem if one is arrested, bring you back to the police station and make you prove citizenship. You shouldn’t have gotten arrested in the first place.
The officer takes her papers and returns to his vehicle. There he enters DL number into the computer. The computer reports that the DL is valid, she is not a fugitive, and the DL was issued to a citizen. The officer returns the DL, and your mom would not even know that the officer also checked her legal status in the country.
Besides, AZ law specifically says that any state-issued ID (which a DL is) is good enough as a proof of legal residency. That makes sense; if some states have loose DL requirements, the problem needs to be fixed there.