Thread: Illegal aliens seen eroding vote

Illegal aliens seen eroding vote

By Sean Lengell
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published March 8, 2007

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Illegal aliens are eroding the integrity of U.S. elections, and will continue to do so without tighter voting laws, several members of Congress testified at a hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday.
"There is a very real possibility that noncitizens have affected the outcomes of elections in the past, and will in the future," said Rep. Brian P. Bilbray, California Republican, before a House Judiciary Committee on voting irregularities and election deception.
With more than 20 million foreign-born residents in the United States who are not U.S. citizens, including at least 12 million illegal aliens, the potential for noncitizen voting is a growing concern, Mr. Bilbray said.
Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, said illegal aliens in many states can easily acquire driver's licenses, making it easy for them to register to vote, especially states with "motor-voter" laws.
"With many states making driver's licenses available to legal noncitizens and illegal aliens, it is probable voter rolls contain large numbers of noncitizens and illegal aliens," Mr. King said.
But several Democrats said the intimidation of immigrant voters -- not the voting of illegal aliens -- is the biggest election-reform priority.
"Election intimidation and deception have become an unfortunate aspect of recent federal elections, threatening to undermine Americans' confidence in a democratic government," said Rep. John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
"Our goal is to protect every citizen's constitutional right to vote, and to thwart any future attempts to disenfranchise eligible voters through fraud, deception and intimidation."
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, Maryland Democrat, accused Republicans of distributing fraudulent "official Democratic voter guides" during his 2006 re-election bid in an attempt to confuse black voters to vote for his Republican challenger.
"It is time for Congress to once again take action to stop the latest reprehensible tactics that are being used against African-American voters," Mr. Cardin said.
In response to voter-intimidation cases, Sen. Barack Obama, Illinois Democrat, earlier this year introduced the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act, which would impose penalties on people or groups found guilty of intimidating voters.
As for ID issues, Mr. Bilbray said the new REAL ID law, which will require states to verify proof of citizenship before issuing driver's licenses and voter identification cards, will greatly help combat fraudulent voting.
"Many people tend to think that the photo ID requirement would suppress voting, but there has never been evidence to support that assertion," Mr. Bilbray said. "Much to the contrary -- evidence shows that anti-fraud provisions increase voter turnout."
Mr. Bilbray added that more than a 100 democracies worldwide require voters to show photo IDs, including Mexico.
Earlier this month, the Bush administration delayed the start date for the REAL ID law from May 11, 2008, to Dec. 31, 2009.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/200 ... -7376r.htm

So, in our next Presidential election criminal aliens will be voting again???

Okay, that nasty mccain ad is back again!

Now I've lost a little respect for Bilbray. The REAL ID act is not the answer and is going to cost much more than the fence would.

Sippy wrote:

The REAL ID act is not the answer and is going to cost much more than the fence would.

Personally, I don't see the REAL ID Act and fence as connected even though both measures are necessary to aid in curbing illegal immigration. The fence will help us stop the illegals from coming and the REAL ID Act will prevent states from issuing those already here driver's license which will in turn aid in keeping them away from the voters box. I support making life more difficult for criminal aliens and a fence and the REAL ID Act will do just that. The question is, are we willing to make a sacrifice and deal with an inconvience that would undoubtably take a benefit away from criminal aliens?

La Raza also thinks the REAL ID Act will make life more difficult for criminal aliens:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2005

NCLR CONDEMNS PASSAGE OF THE REAL ID ACT

Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., denounced the passage of the “REAL ID Act,” included as part of the Iraqi supplemental appropriations bill which achieved final passage today in Congress.

“Latinos are deeply committed to fixing our broken immigration system, and we look to the President and Congress to push for comprehensive immigration reform,” stated Janet Murguia, NCLR President and CEO. “But the ‘REAL ID Act’ is a great step backward in the road toward meaningful reform.”

The “REAL ID Act” will have severe consequences for states, licensed drivers and those seeking to obtain licenses, as well as Latinos and immigrants. First, it will force all states into a costly and unnecessary overhaul of their driver’s license policies. It will place additional burdens on all driver’s license applicants who will have to prove U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status, resulting in red tape, delays, and increased fees. In addition, the “REAL ID Act” will create a multitiered system in which U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents will have one type of license, and lawful temporary immigrants will have an easily distinguishable temporary license. This type of system opens the door to widespread discrimination and civil rights violations. Finally, because many drivers will be ineligible for licenses or will be discouraged from obtaining them, “REAL ID” will take away a key law enforcement tool by excluding large numbers of residents from the comprehensive government driver’s license database which is used to track down and capture criminals as well as terrorists.

“Immigration documents are extremely complex. People who work in state motor vehicle departments are not immigration agents, nor should they be. Errors are inevitable, and people who are driving on our roads will go without licenses,” noted Murguia. “That undermines everyone’s safety.”

The “REAL ID Act” will also place strict restrictions on asylum seekers, making it much more difficult for persons fleeing persecution to get relief in the U.S., and will deny legal immigrants the ability to challenge their detention.

The “REAL ID Act” has been touted as a national security measure. However, it would not have prevented any of the 9/11 terrorists – all of whom had valid passports from their home countries as well as visas issued by the U.S. government – from getting on planes, and it takes valuable resources away from more effective counterterrorism initiatives. “The 9/11 Commission recommended driver’s license standards to increase security and reduce fraud, which were passed as part of the Intelligence Reform Act in December. The ‘REAL ID Act’ repeals those important and carefully-considered provisions, halts the important work that has already been done to implement them, and replaces them with a policy that was added to this bill without full deliberation,” continued Murguia.

“It is very disturbing that the ‘REAL ID Act’ bypassed all regular congressional channels and was rammed through on the Iraqi supplemental bill,” continued Murguia. “The ‘REAL ID Act’ was attached to the appropriations bill by the House of Representatives. It was never debated in or passed by the Senate and never went through regular committee processes in either chamber.”

“It is particularly offensive that these provisions are part of the bill funding our troops in Iraq and tsunami victims in Asia. There are so many Latino soldiers fighting and dying in Iraq, and this bill will ultimately hurt their families and communities in the U.S.,” concluded Murguia. “The Latino community will hold our nation’s leaders accountable for this extremely damaging and irresponsible piece of legislation.”

http://www.nclr.org/content/news/detail/31270/

I hear a lot of complaints about the REAL ID Act, but I'm not hearing of any alternatives that will stop potential terrorist and criminal aliens from receiving driver's license and moving freely in our society. Unfortunately some states refuse to act responsibly (if every state acted responsibly the REAL ID Act wouldn't be a consideration), which is why some action has to be taken by the federal government. Is the REAL ID Act the answer, I'm not 100% sure, but before I can dismiss it, I'd like to see some alternatives that won't further empower criminal aliens.

I realize my opinion is not a popular one, but even a salmon feels the need to swim upstream occasionally.

MW, a national ID is not the answer. One of the biggest problems with this act is it will have all your medical, financial, info (basically a huge amount of personal info) on the card. This alone presents a huge ID theft possibility.
Not to mention the cost of implimentation of the REAL ID act to the states.
Its a fact that many (if not all) of the 9/11 terrorists were illegals. Had the fence been built, our borders better protected, and immigration laws enforced, 9/11 possibly would not have happened.
There is no way we can possibly stop all acts of terrorism. But REAL ID is no solution.

Enforcing the laws and actually protecting our borders should be the first recommendations. [/quote]