Our view on immigration: Licenses, in-state tuition for illegal immigrants?
With Washington immobile, states choose pragmatism over nativism
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It was Sen. Hillary Clinton's turn to squirm when she was asked at last week's Democratic presidential debate whether she supports her home-state governor's plan to issue drivers' licenses to undocumented residents.

Clinton's equivocal answer — that Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal "makes a lot of sense," but "I did not say it should be done" — was not one of her finer moments.

But it was emblematic of the schizophrenic approach to immigration that's emerged in the four months since Congress' pitiful failure to pass a new immigration law.

Some states and localities have enacted rigid anti-immigrant legislation in hopes of driving away the more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the USA. A smaller number are going to the other extreme, trying to create safe havens.

But in between, an interesting mix of pragmatic approaches is developing on matters ranging from transportation to education. They try to cope with the reality that the immigrants are here and likely to stay. Two are particularly notable:

* Drivers' licenses. Illegal immigrants trying to support themselves and their families are going to drive, with or without licenses and insurance — a problem every time there is an accident. So the question for Spitzer and other governors becomes: What is the best way to ensure that they understand U.S. driving regulations, operate registered vehicles and carry insurance?

Spitzer first proposed issuing them licenses like everyone else, but that drew a loud rebuke from Homeland Security Department Secretary Michael Chertoff, who said it would undermine his attempts to make drivers' licenses a secure form of identification.

They compromised on a reasonable tiered licensing system that includes one marked "not for federal purposes." That permit would be available to undocumented workers for driving, but would not let them board planes or enter federal buildings.

* College access. Another inflammatory issue is whether undocumented students ought to get the lower, in-state tuition at public universities. For obvious reasons, the idea tends to prompt outrage. But look deeper, and it makes sense. Typically, the students who benefit were brought across the border as small children by parents looking for work and entered large, public schools in big cities.

Fewer than one in 10 of these children actually make it to college. The children who do make it are those with the most grit and drive — exactly the kind of immigrants the nation prizes.

That is why California and nine other states passed laws granting them in-state tuition rates. Generally, these states require that the students graduate from state high schools and sign affidavits swearing they will pursue citizenship if given the chance.

The latest federal failure to grapple with immigration played out last month when the Senate failed to advance the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2007 known as DREAM, which targeted youths brought to this country before they turned 16. Those headed to college or military service would have been granted a path to citizenship.

Until the federal gridlock eases, state and local officials will continue to struggle with immigration problems.

Anti-immigrant rhetoric notwithstanding, millions of these people are not going to leave voluntarily or be deported. So who benefits if they remain unlicensed, uninsured and uneducated?

Coping with reality
Eight states allow undocumented immigrants to receive their drivers’ licenses or permits:
* Hawaii
* Maine
* Maryland
* Michigan
* New Mexico
* Oregon
* Utah
* Washington

Ten states have passed legislation that allows illegal residents to receive in-state tuition rates at public universities:
* California
* Illinois
* Kansas
* Nebraska
* New Mexico
* New York
* Oklahoma
* Texas
* Utah
* Washington

Source: National Immigration Law Center