http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/ho ... ?id=724302 -


Exclusive: Illegal Aliens: Unsafe at Any Speed
Joan Harrold Messner
Author: Joan Harrold Messner

Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: February 12, 2007



At a recent service union meeting in New York, proponents of driver’s licenses for Illegal Aliens told the DMV: Do Not Enforce the Law. Meanwhile, opponents of such licenses were turned away at the door. FSM Contributing Editor Joan Harrold Messner explains.



Illegal Aliens: Unsafe at Any Speed



By Joan Harrold Messner



Sometimes you just shake your head in disbelief, dismay and disgust. Do you know what I mean? Sometimes you see a person, see a headline, hear a broadcast or a speech and it is so stunning, so flabbergasting, so outrageously unreasonable that you are at a complete loss for a coherent and reasonable reaction. All you can do is shake your head.



That happened to me Saturday. There was supposed to be a public discussion about giving driving licenses to undocumented persons (that is, illegal aliens); the governor and the current head of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles were both invited, so naturally, I saw it as an important meeting that I wanted to attend. I arrived and got on line for the elevator. And was turned away!



I was stunned.



The meeting was at the labor union headquarters of SEIU 32B. I and many others were not admitted to this “public discussion” which, in fact, tuned out to be rather a private one.



That was not only surprising, but unethical to boot. All of us had original identification and behaved responsibly and in a reasonable manner…what was the problem?



Apparently we were all “spotted” as being the opposition…that is, those who are in favor of honoring only identifiable and documented people with driver’s licenses. Furthermore, and this is where I shook my head….there was a huge sign on the wall that said:



DON’T LET THE DMV ENFORCE INS LAWS



In other words, the sign appealed to all present to force the Department of Motor Vehicles to ignore Immigration and Naturalization Service laws which require genuine identification of anyone who applies for a driver’s license.



This country functions as well as it does on the rule of law, and I daresay that ability is one of the main reasons for its success as a cohesive and orderly nation. As long as I have lived, I have never seen any group openly and brazenly advocate to breaking the law as these opponents of secure driver’s licenses are doing. Wise and law-abiding people try to change laws systemically, but never have I seen anything like this.



After the head-shaking stopped, I became angry. Why would an American service workers’ union want our laws not to be enforced? Why would anyone not want to educate himself as to the reasons behind New York’s healthy and necessary restrictions on securing drivers’ licenses?



If anyone from SEIU 32B reads this, please tell me.



New York and New Jersey are ahead of much of the country. Our licenses are now very difficult to forge. They have multiple pattern backgrounds, they use non-commercial inks and rainbow printing, bar-coding and ultra-violet symbols visible only under special lighting.



These characteristics were carefully selected to protect YOU: from identity theft, from under-age drinking and driving, from voter fraud, from criminals and others who may have drunk-driving records in other states…and from terrorists determined to launch another catastrophic attack. Remember, in some states a driving license can get you any kind of a gun, too.



Incredibly, ten states still do not require appropriate identification and/or proof of residency for an applicant for that state’s driver’s license: Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. A terrorist can go straight to the internet to learn that these are the states with lax requirements.



And that is just what the 9/11 killers did…they went to the easiest states at the time (Florida, Virginia and New Jersey, all of whom, to their credit, quickly brought in rigid standards after 9/11), and between the nineteen mass murderers, they obtained over 50 licenses without a problem…and used those licenses to pass security and board planes that killed three thousand people.



If these ten states do not strengthen their vetting procedures they put us all, every single American citizen located in every single state in the union, at risk. These states must not give licenses to unidentified persons. Join in this battle and write to the Congressional representatives form those states as well as your own: your life may depend upon it.



FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Joan Harrold Messner is Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License and Director of Development for the Met Opera Auditions Program.



© 2003-2007 FamilySecurityMatters.org All Rights Reserved



If you are a reporter or producer who is interested in receiving more information about this writer or this article, please email your request to COY7m@aol.com.



Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of The Family Security Foundation, Inc.



Click here to support Family Security Matters