Thread: NJ: ACLU & Quakers say smart to let illegals have licens

mycentraljersey.com

January 19, 2009

Safer, smarter to let illegal aliens drive a car

Rumors are flying in New Jersey that Gov. Jon S. Corzine's Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy will soon recommend that the governor support so-called "driving privilege cards" for undocumented immigrants in the state. Even without an actual recommendation or report, the media and public response has been overwhelmingly negative, bringing back memories of the backlash against former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer when our neighbor state recognized the benefits of ensuring that all state residents have access to driver's licenses.

Rather than cave in to the backlash, New Jersey must develop sound policy that addresses the public safety concerns of all residents and drivers in the state. The best policy we can develop would require all individuals who drive in the state to obtain licenses after presenting valid ID and passing a driving test.

As in New York, the clamor against licenses has tangled two issues — safety and immigration status — and gets them both wrong. First, safety. Experts have confirmed again and again that roads are safer when drivers are licensed and insured. A policy that restricts licenses based on immigration status in a state that relies heavily on cars is setting us up for an increased number of unlicensed drivers. Allowing state residents who can pass the requisite driving tests and present valid, authentic identification to obtain licenses is sound public policy that will lead to safer, better and insured drivers.

National security experts also recognize the importance of identification and knowing who is living among us. A driver's license functions as a de facto identification card, whether we admit it or not. Denying licenses based on immigration status alone perpetuates a class of individuals who cannot access valid state identification and are pushed into the shadows. Expanding the current system to include documents that are widely accepted even by the state department, such as valid passports, will bring people out into the open.

The second issue, immigration status, is one that New Jersey cannot address — it is up to the federal government to create immigration policy. But with 28 percent of the state's work force foreign born, it is essential to recognize that immigrants are contributing to our tax base, strengthening our local economies, and are integral to the vibrancy of our communities. The fact that millions of immigrants throughout the country cannot legalize their immigration status is the fault of a system that over the years has valued certain people over others, has not recognized the factors that drive migration in the first place and desperately needs to be overhauled.

Alternatives to the current stalemate exist. While the federal government updates our immigration laws and policies to reflect current realities, New Jersey can establish itself as a leader in the interest of public safety by providing licenses regardless of immigration status. New Jersey has a responsibility to ensure safety and security within its borders. Just because the federal government has failed to enact sound policy on immigration does not mean that New Jersey should create policies that carry on that dysfunction.

Amy Gottlieb is program director of the Immigrant Rights Program for the American Friends Service Committee and Deborah Jacobs is executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbc ... e=printart

No thank you... they are killing enough American Citizens on the roads as it is

The ACLU can go blow it out they're corrupt little backside

H-LL NO! Most of these illegals don't even know HOW to drive anyway. Take a driver's test? Riiight, then have their "advocates" screaming "Raaaaacist" when they FAIL.

It's smarter and safer to eliminate ALL incentives that cause illegal aliens to separate themselves from their families, pay thousands of dollars to smugglers to sneak them into the US, get paid slave wages by greedy employers and to keep them safe in their OWN countries! It's the HUMANE thing to do.

Denying licenses based on immigration status alone perpetuates a class of individuals who cannot access valid state identification and are pushed into the shadows. Expanding the current system to include documents that are widely accepted even by the state department, such as valid passports, will bring people out into the open.

What a load of blather. Why is giving these people a license bringing them out of the shadows when it seems the majority of the illegal population will never come out, as they prefer the underground system to avoid paying taxes, worrying about insurance or car inspections. They have no need for driver licenses to obtain valid ID. Go back to the home country, apply for a passport and permission to enter the US or just buy it from some guy on the street corner. There is no reason to provide these lawbreakers licenses, and of course the legal American taxpayer will be funding the salaries and expenses of the license bureaus who now have to waste time, denying the Americans a quick processing.
As I stood in a long line to get my new plate, a non-English speaking Hispanic man was trying to get a plate for his friend's car. His translator explained the owner of the car was no longer in the country--he was in Alaska.

What do Quakers know about driver's licenses?



Here's all the ACLU is interested in: