Posted on 02/20/2002 1:09:18 PM PST by Shermy
Proposed legislation requiring more documents from immigrants applying for Tennessee driver's licenses would make roads more dangerous, licensing centers more stressful and the nation no more secure. That's the position of the Department of Safety, said Roland Colson, executive assistant to Commissioner Denny W. King.
"We do not have any legislative effort at this point in time directed toward changing any of the rules," Colson said.
The General Assembly last year passed a law making it unnecessary for immigrants applying for a driver's license to show a Social Security number.
But opponents are pushing for repeal this year, often citing the post-Sept. 11 terrorist threat.
In response, Latino Memphis Connection, a social service agency serving the Hispanic community, and other organizations are churning out press releases, endorsement letters and other information to defeat repeal attempts.
"There's a lot of misinformation out there, and we're trying to rectify that," said David Lubell, community outreach coordinator for Latino Memphis Connection.
"We think if people understand the whole story, they won't be threatened at all."
Among legislators pushing for tighter access to driver's licenses is Rep. Tre Hargett (R-Bartlett). "I think we now have a group of people who have driver's licenses that we can't necessarily verify they are who they say they are," he said.
"Our driver's license centers are flooded because of the ease of obtaining driver's licenses."
But the Coalition for a Safer Tennessee, a group defending the new driver's license law, lists among supporters the Tennessee Bar Association, Knoxville Police Department, Tennessee Catholic Public Policy Commission, Nashville Chamber of Commerce and other religious, business, community and government organizations.
Lubell said Tennesseans should think about the children.
"Do you want your children crossing the street when they could be at risk from a driver who doesn't know the rules of the road?
"It's not an immigration issue. It's a safety issue."
Opponents of easier access to licenses also propose alternative legislation that would require immigrants to show they are in the United States legally through such documents as a passport or visa.
The opponents cite concerns over terrorists using fraudulently obtained driver's licenses as IDs. As many as five of the Sept. 11 hijackers fraudulently obtained identification cards Aug. 2 from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, federal authorities have alleged.
Opponents also are pointing to the alleged driver's license scam uncovered in Memphis this month. License examiner Katherine Smith, who died in a fiery car wreck Feb. 10, was charged the week before with conspiring to provide fraudulently obtained driver's licenses.
Her co-defendants are five men of Middle Eastern descent. Three of the men admitted to being in the United States illegally and said they were going to pay two middlemen about $1,000 each for driver's licenses, according to the FBI.
While free on her own recognizance, Smith died in what federal authorities describe as a suspicious wreck, the result of arson.
Federal authorities have said they are investigating any possible terrorist links among Smith's co-defendants.
An FBI agent has testified that one of Smith's co-defendants and a leader of the alleged scam told authorities he traveled from New York to Tennessee to get licenses in part because Tennessee does not require immigrants to have a Social Security number.
But Colson said the alleged collusion of the driver's license examiner was a much bigger factor.
"For an examiner that knows the system and knows how it works, there is a possibility they could find a way to enter a Social Security number that could be verified and allowed for a driver's license to be issued," he said.
"Having the Social Security number is not a fail-safe mechanism," he said. "There are ways a person who knows the system can get around it."
And anybody can get a Social Security number, Colson said. "I mean, some of the people that were terrorists had Social Security numbers. That in itself is not a security item."
The Department of Safety also does not want to require people who are not citizens to prove they are in the United States legally by showing proper INS documents such as passports or visas.
"It is a federal requirement of the INS to find out whether someone is here legally or not," Colson said. "It is not our obligation at this particular point."
Arkansas takes a different approach.
"If the paperwork doesn't look right, we'll call the INS and start checking them out," said Susan Willingham, Arkansas license examiner.
If the Tennessee General Assembly starts requiring such proof of a person's legal presence, the Department of Safety would need more money, training and workers, Colson said.
Applicants already stand in line for hours at testing centers, especially in bigger cities like Memphis. It's been an issue for years.
The driver's license division has 303 employees to handle 5.2 million drivers, he said. Workers not only issue driver's licenses but also issue handgun permits, take fingerprints and issue identification cards for people who don't drive.
Making it easier for immigrants to get licenses not only helps individuals, Colson said, it boosts the state's construction and farming industries.
"They have a dramatic need for labor," he said. "These people coming here, they provide that." [no, they provide cheap labor, suppressing the wages of Americans. Disgusting. This guy could write for the Wall Street Journal!]
Plus, deny immigrants a driver's license, Colson said, "and what you are going to do is put a large group of people out on the road that do not have a license, do not have insurance and do not understand the rules of the road."
Ricardo Duran, 44, of Colombia studied the rules, passed the exam and received his license about three weeks ago.
"We wouldn't have been able to get a driver's license if the state had forced us to have a Social Security number," said his wife, Claudia Duran, 40.
Since May, the Durans have been in Memphis, where their 11-year-old daughter, Ana, is being treated for leukemia at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
First of all, the driver's license helps the family get around Memphis, Claudia Duran said. "Second of all, it helps you to have an ID." Her husband's driver's license even has helped them finally to be able to rent videos.
- Tom Bailey Jr.: 529-2388
baileytom@gomemphis.com
Isn't that the INS' damn job? Something is rotten in Denmark, and we're all paying the price for it.
A sense of identity? They need to be given a sense of identity by being deported, criminals that they are. The leftists and big business are all aligned on this issue and the inmates are running the asylum.
It is incredible that this statement comes from a police chief. Illegal aliens break our immigration laws, employment laws, engage in all sorts of fraudulent activities and graft and this police chief thinks that they should be able to do this out in the open! Since when shouldn't criminals remain in the shadows? This guy seems to have a problem with his own job of enforcing the law when it comes to illegals. With a profile like that he would make a great fit in Bush’s INS department. I wonder if this cop would give me a break if I was pulled over for driving on an expired license?
Its the two ton elephant in the living room, while everyone ignores it and trys to look around it.
Yep. While the floor starts to give away under the weight.
This line is worn out. Try something else for a change.
Can you hear me out there? GET A LIFE AND A NEW LINE!! I'm bored.
Thanks for the ping 'O toothy one.
Excuse me if I just see this as one more step in the open borders direction
Look out New World Order " here we come!
I would make just this addition: . “Tennessee--Home To Terrorists Worldwide and Home for all illegal aliens. Come to Tennessee for free medical care, housing, food stamps, utilities and be able to vote against the evil GW!"
Up to now if any conservatives complained about this situation, they would be branded as racists by the politically correct mediots and of course the demonicRats depending on the illegal alien votes!
Actually, I don't think we really disagree... rape is about all of the above.
The point I was making was in reference of the Left's efforts to disconnect rape from sex entirely, ("rape is not about sex"), rather than place it in it's proper context as you have here. Their agenda is rather insidious... once the word "rape" is disconnected from the concept of physical sexual violation, the Left is free to call anything "patriarchal" a form of rape.
So, "rape is not about sex" becomes a launching pad for feminist misogyny.
In the same way, the Left is dishonestly trying disconnect immigration (and ILLEGAL immigration) from the issue of rewarding lawlessness...
From the article:
"There's a lot of misinformation out there, and we're trying to rectify that," said David Lubell, community outreach coordinator for Latino Memphis Connection.
"We think if people understand the whole story, they won't be threatened at all."
...Lubell said Tennesseans should think about the children.
Pathetic.
"Do you want your children crossing the street when they could be at risk from a driver who doesn't know the rules of the road?
"It's not an immigration issue. It's a safety issue."
He's a liar.
And if the Left successfully disconnects drivers' licenses for illegals from immigration, then oppostion to it will be sucessfully smeared as racist.
I agree.
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