The Readers' Forum: Wednesday letters

Posted: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 9:00 pm
Winston Salem Journal

No licenses for ‘illegal aliens’

Our nation was founded on the principal of rule of law, meaning that people are responsible for their actions and the consequences that follow. In a civil society, it is necessary to not reward illegal behavior otherwise more illegal behavior will follow.

Soon, the General Assembly will decide whether or not North Carolina will award illegal aliens with drivers’ permits. Rewarding illegal aliens with a privilege that is reserved for citizens and those lawfully present in North Carolina is wrong.

This bill, if passed, will lead to two consequences. First, an influx of illegal aliens will come to our state for the purpose of working unlawfully. The drivers’ permit will exempt them from the E-Verify system, and they will be able to obtain an illegal job with little to no enforcement of their unlawful status. Second, if they choose not to work, they can use the state issued drivers’ permit to live here free from enforcement and tap into our state’s social welfare safety net.

Either way, the law-abiding taxpayers of North Carolina will pay the price through social services or through unfair competition for jobs, driving down wages and taking employment away from North Carolina citizens.

North Carolina has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the nation. Ill-conceived legislation that harms our legal citizens who are struggling to make ends meet only exacerbates the problem.

LT. GOV. DAN FOREST

RALEIGH

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