It's been over a year since I resigned my job enforcing US law, and I'm ready to break my silence. I've commented here and there on the whole immigration debate, but I haven't put my thoughts down in ASCI.
This series discusses several Republican proposals and explains why they're bat scat crazy. It discusses why amnesty is a bad idea and driver's licenses are good. I'll propose a revenue-neutral policy for decreasing the number of people living outside the law.
This is PART I:
(a) Driver's Licenses for Illegal Immigrants
(b) The Perfect ID Card
NOTE: I am writing about this while everyone's looking at Isreal and Lebanon in the hopes we can turn down the heat on the topic. If you've got something specific you'd like me to discuss, I'm open to suggestions. The next few entries cover: (c) "Round 'em All Up!" (d) Make it a Felony (e) Anchor Babies (f) Gay Marriage?!? (g) Amnesty (h) 2M Worker Visas [proposal] (i) The Unions' Cheshire Grin [proposal]
Driver's Licenses for Illegal Immigrants
Ok. So we've all heard that illegal immigrants shouldn't get driver's licenses. That's the law in California, and I'm sure it is elsewhere. This is dumb.
You're driving down the 405, coming up on John Wayne Airport, when five lanes of traffic turn red and stop dead. You slam on your breaks. At that moment, is it more important that the guy behind you has insurance, or that he hid in the trunk of a car returning from Tijuana?
If you can't get a driver's license, you can't get insurance. Let illegal immigrants buy car insurance. Let everyone buy car insurance. That's the end of the issue for me.
If you want traffic stops to arrest people who drive without insurance, that's your business: "You must report to the police station with working papers within 14 days. If you want your car back, bring insurance."
The Perfect ID Card
Once upon a time, one of our states decided to issue an anti-fraud driver's license. The hologram was supposed to be in color but it was decided it wasn't worth the cost so they went with two-tone. The specs had already fallen into the hands of counterfeiters, and no one told them about the changes to the order. So long before the state's new ID card came out, the black market produced the more expensive version.
I've seen bogus green cards and visas produced from around the world. Some are immediately obvious; others require other means to detect. I'm not aware of any perfect fakes, but you wouldn't be, would you?
Most Americans have worse ID than illegal immigrants. So, you have a letter from a notary that says you told him you're a citizen. Is that supposed to mean something? I'm certain he would sign one saying I told him I'm a carrot. Birth certificates, are you serious? Take a look at yours. Chances are I could counterfeit it at Kinkos.
Clearly it's time to start fingerprinting babies and arresting people claiming to be US citizens
One more thing about giving illegals drivers licenses: it makes enforcment a piece of cake. While no immigration officer will accept a drivers license as proof of citizenship or legal residence, it is defacto proof of residence. If a CBP officer opens up a suitcase of someone claiming to be on vacation and finds a drivers license it's considered documentary evidence of a couple immigration violations: receiving public benefit and establishing residence without authorization. If I wanted to prove someone was living illegally in the US, and had a choice between a paystub and a drivers license, I'd choose a drivers license every time.