Something Else We Didn’t Learn
By Cathryn Crawford (08/22/03)
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.
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