Posted on 02/20/2002 10:58:49 PM PST by Sabertooth
Immigrant licenses debated
State lawmakers hold hearings on allowing illegal aliens to be issued driver's licenses.
Eagle Topeka bureau
TOPEKA -- A federal immigration official disagreed sharply with some state lawmakers and a Kansas police chief Tuesday over whether the federal government is enforcing immigration laws.Federal agents will respond to any report from local police about people who are not in the country legally, said Robert Visnaw, a special agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
His statement to a panel of lawmakers was met with skepticism and disbelief.
"If you want to find undocumented workers in this town, I can find you a thousand tonight," said Rep. Rick Rehorn, D-Kansas City. "If you're willing to enforce the immigration laws, you better spread the word."
The issue pending before state lawmakers is whether to issue Kansas driver's licenses to people who are not in the country legally.
Hispanic groups are seeking to reverse a law passed two years ago that requires proof of legal residence for a license. They contend that workers who have obtained a federal tax identification number from the Internal Revenue Service should be allowed to drive legally.
Visnaw, assigned to the Kansas City immigration office, conceded that the federal government is sending mixed signals -- collecting taxes from workers who are in the country illegally while insisting that they should be deported.
The IRS, he said, does not share names and other information from the tax ID numbers with the federal immigration agency.
Many lawmakers say the state is left to deal with the reality that thousands of illegal residents are living in the state, holding jobs and raising families.
"Right now, the tendency is to pretend that undocumented workers are not living among us and it is not a problem," said Rep. Tom Klein, D-Wichita, whose district is heavily Hispanic.
John Douglas, chief of the Overland Park Police Department, said the majority of illegal residents have started the lengthy process to obtain legal status.
In the meantime, he said, a driver's license with a photo, linked to a federal tax ID number, would help police even if the name was false. Police could at least link the photo and number to past crimes committed under the same name, he said.
He warned against trying to ignore the presence of illegal residents.
"They will create a shadow society like we've seen in places like Los Angeles," he said.
Visnaw, however, showed members of the House Judiciary Committee samples of a federal tax ID card that he said he created on his computer with a color printer.
Outside the hearing room, Visnaw conceded in an interview that most illegal residents were unlikely to be deported. He said the district office, with 14 agents to cover much of Kansas and Missouri, concentrates on illegal residents who have committed serious crimes.
Rep. Mike O'Neal, chairman of the committee, said he was interested in creating a separate driver's license that clearly states that the holder is not a legal resident.
He asked Visnaw if the immigration agency would object --"other than the philosophical problem of 'they shouldn't be here anyway'; let's get over that." Visnaw did not object.
Sheila Walker, director of the state's motor vehicle division, said her agency could implement a separate card. However, she remained opposed to giving any kind of license to illegal residents.
A license is used as identification for such things as opening bank accounts and applying for credit cards, she said.
Walker asked lawmakers to consider guidelines developed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. After the Sept 11 attacks, the group called for a standardized process to get licenses and ID cards, including proof of legal residence under federal law.
I am not going to surrender. I am just going to retreat in a different direction.
And home building would flounder as well as automotive repair, landscaping, meat and poultry processing,
and I expect more than a few parents would find it difficult to find a nanny or maid...to name just a few.
We need to invest in some common sense solutions to fix this problem.
Since you have to take the bad with the good, ie, criminals (and if they're here illegally, they're criminals) with the hard workers, things should even out, and there will be more incentive for people to come here legally.
The restaurants, car washes, building & landscaping industries will just have to pay more and charge more. The upside is that the money is more likely to stay in the community than be sent to Mexico.
Market your white flag only business to the House GOP and you should make a bundle. :(
I think our borders are too open. I also see a need for guest workers.
I would like to see cool heads and common sense come into play.
With some thought, we could have a win-win situation.
Becase the Infernal Revenue Service doesn't care if they're illegal or not! They just want the money!
Well gee .. I'm so glad to hear that money is more important then our national security ... it just makes me all warm and fuzzy
I might even get a good night sleep tonight
All both states will, most likely, get is an unprecedented crime wave. I hope the victims are liberal Democrats. They'll deserve it.
>sarcasm<
The lady in charge of driver licenses in Kansas has taken a brave stand:
Sheila Walker, director of the state's motor vehicle division, said her agency could implement a separate card. However, she remained opposed to giving any kind of license to illegal residents.
A license is used as identification for such things as opening bank accounts and applying for credit cards, she said.
Walker asked lawmakers to consider guidelines developed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. After the Sept 11 attacks, the group called for a standardized process to get licenses and ID cards, including proof of legal residence under federal law.
I just wish that we could clone her and put her in charge of the 49 DMV's and the District of Corruption's DMV.
The SOBs start at the top.
I'm in on that one.
I say we stop doing business with the ChiCom, and move any manufacturing that we currently have there to Mexico.
Works for me...
If I'm not buying something American made, I look for Mexican, Taiwanese, Canadian, and British imports... in that order.
Too bad both Bush and Clinton had no choice but to sell us out on illegals, because...
They both sold us out on China.
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