Last week (July 19), the Daily Item published an opinion piece in favor of state Sen. Brendan Crighton’s push to end the state’s policy of not allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.
One of the reasons cited was so that these individuals would be able to get to work without relying on public transportation or other individuals, or having to walk long distances, thus giving them greater access to work.
What the senator and the writer of the opinion piece failed to mention is that undocumented immigrants are not legally allowed to work in the U.S., under federal law. The employer can not complete the required I-9 employment eligibility form, which is used for all citizens and documented immigrants. That being the case, why should the state further accommodate illegal activity? Wouldn’t that be aiding and abetting criminal activity?
The senator even admitted that this is another way for the state to get money through “paying fees required by the Registry.”
Suggesting that licensing the undocumented would cause “a reduction in unlicensed driving violations” because they would have a license is ridiculous. If you make an illegal activity legal, of course there will be a reduction. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
And what about the fact that we are always told that driving is a privilege, not a right? How do those that do not have the documents required to legally be in the U.S., let alone legally work in the U.S., qualify for this privilege? It seems to me, that all this does is reward bad behavior.
One last point that I would like to make is that those with TPS and DACA recipients are already allowed to get driver’s licenses, due to the fact that they are lawfully in the U.S. under DHS rules.
So we are not talking about people who were brought here by no choice of their own as children. We are talking about people who purposefully ignored our immigration laws, possibly committed identity theft to get a job or housing, and according to the title of this bill, may have broken our employment laws, as well.
Passing this bill would be like allowing a stranger to live in your house after they break into it and giving them the keys to your car to use as they wish. Would a reasonable person do that? I wouldn’t.
I don’t think that you would either. Why? Because you know right from wrong, and you follow the rules.
Chris Reynolds
