Posted on 08/22/2003 7:06:59 AM PDT by Scenic Sounds
It was quite an embarrassment to several state governments after September 11, 2001, when it was revealed that many of the hijackers that were in the country illegally had state issued driver’s licenses. The flap over the revelation caused some state governments, especially the ones primarily involved, to rethink their policies concerning that issue. However, obviously some states didn’t think hard enough, because about half the states in the United States still provide illegal immigrants with driver’s licenses, and the erstwhile Grey Davis of California is using what are apparently his last days in office to push through a piece of legislation that will grant the right of driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants there.
Why would we reward illegal activity with the privilege of a driver’s license? What would possess us to do such a thing? It’s a policy of pessimism – we are, in essence, saying that we give up on the enforcement of immigration laws, and that we accept that there’s nothing we can do about it - so we might as well just say to heck with it and give them the license.
When you think about it critically (a talent that many government officials seem to lack) the entire idea is foolish in the extreme. Here we have a situation where we are giving illegals a pass to do all sorts of things here in America, including open a bank account, get an apartment, and apply for a Social Security card, when in reality we have no way of knowing who, in fact, we are giving this privilege to. In the case of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the hijackers used their driver’s licenses as I.D. cards to board the planes that they used to murder more than 3,000 people. However, this circumstance doesn’t seem to give the governments of many states pause. They are just as gung-ho as ever about providing legitimacy to a bunch of lawbreakers.
It doesn’t make any sense to provide illegal immigrants with that sort of legitimacy. These people have openly, flagrantly violated United States immigration laws, most are here using false identification, and yet, some politicians and government workers seem more than willing to give them the means to stay in this country indefinitely – when the reality is, they should be deported as quickly as possible.
Issuing driver’s licenses to people who have violated our country, who have disobeyed our laws, and who have no respect for the United States government is not the way to discourage illegal immigration, or even a way to regulate the illegal immigrants who are here. Instead, it will make it easier and more frequent than it already is - and that, in turn, can and will make it easier for those who want to do harm to this country and its citizens to do so. The states should remember what happened on September 11, and learn a lesson from it. Not providing driver’s licenses to illegals may be a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Cathryn Crawford is a student from Texas. She can be reached at feedback@washingtondisptach.com, and you can read more of her writings and opinion on her blog.
Good job, student from Texas.
Signed, Systems Analyst from Georgia.
:o)
Well, that's an idea.
I wonder if it's difficult for states to discriminate on the basis of legal and illegal status when issuing driver's licenses. How can a state DMV determine whether someone is here legally or illegally? I wonder how complicated that process would be.
Wasn't this a big issue recently in Georgia?
Analyst, not Analism.
They stole ID's from others and got drivers licenses as a result of that theft. They didn't just walk into a DL Bureau and get one. They used stolen IDs. For example, that is how a student from ERAU was implicated in 9-11, when he had nothing to do with it.
Oh well. At least the author got their name in lights.
I see. I guess most citizens can demonstrate their citizenship by birth certificate.
If we expect DMV's to be able to handle this task, why is it felt by some that it would be unduly burdensome for employers to have to do the same thing, I wonder.
Are you able to fix that by adding her name in parentheses to the title?
The answer to your first question: "Show me your papers"
As to being complicated, it's a royal pain in the rear end.
Shortly after we moved to Virginia I went to DMV to inquire about switching our Delaware driver's licenses. Between my husband and I we made 5 trips to DMV before we were able to get VA drvers licenses.
For him they wanted a copy of his birth certificate because he is a Jr.
For me I couldn't get one until I went to social security and changed my name in that system. It didn't matter that my Delaware driver's license had both my maiden and married names on it, nor that I had my marriage license - my social security card only had my maiden name on it.
The amazing thing was it was easier to get the name change at SSA than it was to get a DL from the commonwealth of VA.
That sounds horrible!!
However, it seems to me that beneath all of these driver's license issues is the need for us to find some way of identifying who is properly residing in this country. Obviously, that is why many folks get so incensed to learn that states are issuing these driver's licenses without regard to the status of the applicant. The driver's license is like a badge of legitimacy and once someone gets one, a whole world of access is opened.
Immigration is inherently a national issue. Maybe it's time to seriously consider a National ID Card. ;-)
Immigration is inherently a national issue. Maybe it's time to seriously consider a National ID Card. ;-)
Isn't that what SS cards have actually become, even though they are not supposed to be used for ID????
Well, let me begin by saying that the real experts on this "bogus identification" game are probably the folks who engage in creating false/misleading identification papers for criminal purposes and I gratefully admit that I've never had to develop haven't any expertise in that area. I don't still have my original Social Security card (in fact, I don't presently have any Social Security card anymore), but when I did have one, I recall it to be just a piece of paper with my SS number and my name typewritten on the face.
I'm thinking that maybe it's time for a National ID Card (whether based on the Social Security number or not) that would be very difficult to either counterfeit or alter and which would in some way (photo, fingerprint, etc.) make it possible to reliably determine that the person possessing the card is the person to whom it was issued.
I recognize, though, that there are some civil libertarians out there who are opposed to a National ID Card under any circumstances.
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