Thread: Illegal aliens' deserve state driver licenses

http://www.thedailyaztec.com/news/2005/ ... 8843.shtml



According to the Santa Barbara Independent Media Center, there are approximately 2 million undocumented migrants driving without licenses in California. The pending Senate Bill 1160 would put an end to this in a fair and balanced way.

Senate Bill 1160 would grant undocumented migrants the right to driver licenses when they present a tax payer's identification number instead of a social security number. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stated he will only approve of SB 1160 if there is a distinguishing mark on the driver license card identifying the person as "illegal." But branding them in this way would only open them to harassment and unfair treatment during what should be a routine traffic stop.

It's true that the United States is a country based on a constitution and its laws, but it is also a country based on growth through migration, especially from Mexico.

In the early 20th century, migrant workers were needed in the booming railroad and agricultural fields. They were welcomed until the 1930s when the Great Depression hit, and migrants were used as scapegoats for the lack of jobs and repatriated to Mexico.

Then there was the Bracero Program, which began in 1942, and legally recruited Mexican men to work the fields and factories that had been abandoned by American men who went to fight in World War II.

The Bracero Program ended in 1964 and was followed by an increase in the enforcement of the Border Patrol and the militarization of the Mexico-United States - a process which seems to have no end.

More recently, the economic prosperity of the '90s might be correlated to the migration boom. The Federation for American Immigration Reform reports: "During the 1990s, the United States immigrant population experienced its largest increase ever - about 11.3 million people." It was also during the '90s when California became the fifth largest economy in the world, according to the state's Web site about commerce.

Undocumented workers are not stealing jobs, government funds or education opportunities from any citizen. Leaving their homes and loved ones gives undocumented migrants a different determination than others who have man-made laws on their sides. They have to struggle against rejection and being marginalized in a society who needs them as much as they need the work.



Letters to the Editor: letters@thedailyaztec.com

http://www.thedailyaztec.com/news/2005/ ... 8843.shtml



According to the Santa Barbara Independent Media Center, there are approximately 2 million undocumented migrants driving without licenses in California. The pending Senate Bill 1160 would put an end to this in a fair and balanced way.

Senate Bill 1160 would grant undocumented migrants the right to driver licenses when they present a tax payer's identification number instead of a social security number. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stated he will only approve of SB 1160 if there is a distinguishing mark on the driver license card identifying the person as "illegal." But branding them in this way would only open them to harassment and unfair treatment during what should be a routine traffic stop.

It's true that the United States is a country based on a constitution and its laws, but it is also a country based on growth through migration, especially from Mexico.

In the early 20th century, migrant workers were needed in the booming railroad and agricultural fields. They were welcomed until the 1930s when the Great Depression hit, and migrants were used as scapegoats for the lack of jobs and repatriated to Mexico.

Then there was the Bracero Program, which began in 1942, and legally recruited Mexican men to work the fields and factories that had been abandoned by American men who went to fight in World War II.

The Bracero Program ended in 1964 and was followed by an increase in the enforcement of the Border Patrol and the militarization of the Mexico-United States - a process which seems to have no end.

More recently, the economic prosperity of the '90s might be correlated to the migration boom. The Federation for American Immigration Reform reports: "During the 1990s, the United States immigrant population experienced its largest increase ever - about 11.3 million people." It was also during the '90s when California became the fifth largest economy in the world, according to the state's Web site about commerce.

Undocumented workers are not stealing jobs, government funds or education opportunities from any citizen. Leaving their homes and loved ones gives undocumented migrants a different determination than others who have man-made laws on their sides. They have to struggle against rejection and being marginalized in a society who needs them as much as they need the work.



Letters to the Editor: letters@thedailyaztec.com

Originally Posted by occutegirl

According to the Santa Barbara Independent Media Center, there are approximately 2 million undocumented migrants driving without licenses in California.

When my little nephew, way back when, saw an unsafe driver he'd say "Where'd they get their drivers license ... Sears?"

Same question comes to mind for me. What are the requirements to receiving these licenses? If memory serves me correctly, I had to pass a written test and doggone that parallel parking tripped up a number of us anxious-to-be teen drivers but we still passed the "rest" of the acutal driving test.

Licensing someone does not insure their ability to drive in a safe and prudent manner. What about road signs? I got tested on those way back when ... and they're all posted in English. "Slick when wet," "45 mph," "construction zone," "one way," "DO NOT ENTER" mean nothing to those "licensed" illegal immigrant drivers who can't heed the warnings because they can't read the signs. Pity the poor construction crew getting barrelled down by a Spanish-reading-speaking only driver because he/she can't comprehend the posted warnings around highway construction zones.

The pending Senate Bill 1160 would put an end to this in a fair and balanced way.

Sounds as if the writer has been listening to too much Fox News or maybe that would be the other Fox ... Vincente. Either way, this proposal is neither fair nor balanced!

It's insane!

It's true that the United States is a country based on a constitution and its laws, but it is also a country based on growth through migration, especially from Mexico.

Not a welcome growth! More like an unwelcome invasion!

Undocumented workers are not stealing jobs, government funds or education opportunities from any citizen.

Heard it all before. It ain't a fact. It's a lie. But that depends on which side of the issue you stand.

Leaving their homes and loved ones gives undocumented migrants a different determination than others who have man-made laws on their sides. They have to struggle against rejection and being marginalized in a society who needs them as much as they need the work.

Maybe these "undocumented migrants" are rejected because:

1) they're likely here illegally;
2) they refuse to obey "man-made" laws .. the laws of our land .. the United States of America
3) they refuse to assimilate into society and learn THE LANGUAGE
4) they often bring crime

etc., etc. etc.

Originally Posted by occutegirl

According to the Santa Barbara Independent Media Center, there are approximately 2 million undocumented migrants driving without licenses in California.

When my little nephew, way back when, saw an unsafe driver he'd say "Where'd they get their drivers license ... Sears?"

Same question comes to mind for me. What are the requirements to receiving these licenses? If memory serves me correctly, I had to pass a written test and doggone that parallel parking tripped up a number of us anxious-to-be teen drivers but we still passed the "rest" of the acutal driving test.

Licensing someone does not insure their ability to drive in a safe and prudent manner. What about road signs? I got tested on those way back when ... and they're all posted in English. "Slick when wet," "45 mph," "construction zone," "one way," "DO NOT ENTER" mean nothing to those "licensed" illegal immigrant drivers who can't heed the warnings because they can't read the signs. Pity the poor construction crew getting barrelled down by a Spanish-reading-speaking only driver because he/she can't comprehend the posted warnings around highway construction zones.

The pending Senate Bill 1160 would put an end to this in a fair and balanced way.

Sounds as if the writer has been listening to too much Fox News or maybe that would be the other Fox ... Vincente. Either way, this proposal is neither fair nor balanced!

It's insane!

It's true that the United States is a country based on a constitution and its laws, but it is also a country based on growth through migration, especially from Mexico.

Not a welcome growth! More like an unwelcome invasion!

Undocumented workers are not stealing jobs, government funds or education opportunities from any citizen.

Heard it all before. It ain't a fact. It's a lie. But that depends on which side of the issue you stand.

Leaving their homes and loved ones gives undocumented migrants a different determination than others who have man-made laws on their sides. They have to struggle against rejection and being marginalized in a society who needs them as much as they need the work.

Maybe these "undocumented migrants" are rejected because:

1) they're likely here illegally;
2) they refuse to obey "man-made" laws .. the laws of our land .. the United States of America
3) they refuse to assimilate into society and learn THE LANGUAGE
4) they often bring crime

etc., etc. etc.