Posted on 05/04/2002 10:30:56 AM PDT by summer
A Times Editorial
No drivers' licenses for illegals
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 3, 2002
Democratic state Rep. Bob Henriquez of Tampa says the tighter procedures adopted by the state driver's license bureau Sept. 11 are disadvantaging Hispanics in his district, particularly undocumented workers. He says the state might want to consider providing a special driver's license to people here illegally. Come again?
While we understand that many Hispanics here illegally are contributing to the state's economy by working hard for little pay -- picking produce on farms, washing dishes in restaurants and making beds in hotels -- the state should not be legitimizing this often exploitative underground economy. The millions of people who live in this country illegally should not be rewarded for jumping the line. They have come here in violation of immigration rules that others from their country who wish to emigrate are patiently following.
Even before the nation went on a terrorism alert after the Sept. 11 attacks, the state was taking actions to ensure that driver's license applicants were legal residents and were the person they said they were. Bob Sanchez, spokesman for the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, says the state had already been moving toward a tighter screening process to address identity theft.
Henriquez has a point when he complains that documented immigrants are sometimes finding it difficult to prove their legal status. The more vigilant the DHSMV is in checking and verifying documentation, the more likely people with odd situations will have a hassle. Some legal immigrants, for example, only have a court order granting them political asylum and don't have the typical green card. Sanchez says the department will grant non-citizens a 30-day temporary license while it double-checks their paperwork. He said new scanning devices will help expedite the process.
As for Henriquez's other concern -- the inability of illegal immigrants to get a driver's license -- he should forget it.
Another example of a Latino politician doing what he can to help out his fellow Latinos, even if they've broken the law.
Democratic state Rep. Bob Henriquez of Tampa says the tighter procedures adopted by the state driver's license bureau Sept. 11 are disadvantaging Hispanics in his district, particularly undocumented workers. He says the state might want to consider providing a special driver's license to people here illegally. Come again?My Gosh, Summer. What are those DIMocRATS smokin' there
The laws are already on the books. It's not like this is a new problem and we have to pass special legislation to deal with it.
What is the hold up?
i also doubt that not having a driver's license keep them from voting (with a little help from the dems! LOL)
Tennessee lawmakers used similar reasoning in passing a law last year to allow immigrants to obtain driver's licenses even without documentation or a Social Security number.
The reasoning was that -- since they are here anyway -- they should at least be encouraged to learn the rules of the road and buy auto insurance. The same mindset has flooded public schools with condoms. (Hey, they're gonna have sex anyway...)
The result was thousands of illegals obtaining a universally-recognized ID card that they would not have qualified for under any other circumstances. I have no figures to show whether any of them became better drivers or purchased insurance as a result. But we can probably make an educated guess.
This year, the legislature revised the law, providing those without documentation a license prominently stamped "FOR DRIVING PURPOSES ONLY." Aliens would also have to renew it and be photographed every year instead of every five.
An improvement? I'd like to think so...but I really don't. Remember, this is the state where three Middle-Eastern men are charged with conspiracy to produce fake driver's licenses, and where a driver's license examiner charged with them was found burned to a crisp in her car, the day before her scheduled arraignment. It's not believed Katherine Smith committed suicide.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.