I have never supported the idea of people who are in the USA illegally having access to obtain a driver’s license legally.
Until now.
I have changed my mind. I’ve read and contemplated and read some more. And I’ve changed my mind.
I haven’t supported people in the USA illegally getting a driver’s license legally because, mostly, I didn’t want licenses to be used illegally for a person trying to vote or access certain government benefits, and also because I didn’t want someone to claim to be a citizen who wasn’t.
But the reality is that a driver’s license doesn’t give a person access to voting. To vote, the first thing you have to do is to register to vote. You can’t just show a driver’s license at a polling place to get to vote – you must first be registered. Yes, in most states, to register to vote, you just need a driver’s license and a signed statement where you are saying, “Yes, I’m a citizen”, on a form that says, if you lie, you have committed a felony. So I did a little research… and found out that in these states, such as Oregon, the department of motor vehicles codes every license with a person’s citizenship status. That means, if someone tries to register to vote, the check of their license will show immediately whether they are a citizen or not.
So, if someone had a license, but did not have legal status, the most they could do is show up at a polling place and ask for a provisional ballot, which won’t be counted because, when the elections office checks that person’s status (which they will do before they open and count that ballot), they will know the person isn’t registered. And from there, the law takes its course.
So, based on that, I’m not convinced that giving driver’s licenses to people in the USA will open the door to illegal voting – if states follow their voter registration procedures, that won’t happen.
And note this: most state’s require proof of a permanent residence in order to register to vote. That means the homeless – American citizens, many of them military veterans – cannot vote. That means, if you are homeless and living in an RV, and constantly moving it (most campsites don’t let you stay more than 14 days and most mobile home parks require standards for the mobile home that RVs the homeless drive cannot meet), you will struggle getting or renewing a driver’s license in most states – let alone, vote. Oregon allows you to put “no fixed address” on your driver’s license application, but most states don’t do that. I’m fine with requiring proof of a permanent address for getting a driver’s license (utility bill, for instance) but only if there is an exception that allows a person to provide a notarized statement by what the state of Georgia calls Indigent Resource Provider (a federally and state-registered nonprofit), who will help a person obtain a valid birth certificate or military discharge papers and, therefore, verify that a person is a US citizen. And that means, if you are homeless and in the USA illegally then you would not be allowed to get a driver’s license in the USA. I don’t see a way around that – and maybe there shouldn’t be.
Also, no one gets access to government benefits like housing or disability payments with just a driver’s license. It takes SO much more. Look into it yourself if you don’t believe me.
My husband is a green card holder and has a US driver’s license. He had to go through ALL the same hoops I had to go through to get a driver’s license. Anyone who gets a driver’s license now must provide documentation showing who they are – their real, official name and identity. Anyone who gets a driver’s license now has to demonstrate a standard of driving competence. Anyone who drives has to purchase insurance. Anyone who is caught driving without a valid driver’s license or insurance is (or should be) prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Anyone who commits a driving-related offense, like driving under the influence or vehicular manslaughter is (or should be) prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. NONE of that changes by giving people who are not legally in the USA access to obtaining a driver’s license. None of it. Well, except that it will be MUCH easier for local law enforcement to find a lawbreaker, per their driver’s license.
And so…. I now think people here in the USA illegally should have access to legally obtaining a driver’s license. I think it’s better for MY safety, for everyone’s safety.
Proof of citizenship should be via your birth certificate or a US passport or a military record. And I still don’t believe any local, county or state police should be able to ask for such.
FYI: I also believe that the USA must have immigration reform, that there must be better, easier ways for people from other countries to apply to work in this country, as legal residents, and upon that legal residency, pursue/earn a pathway to citizenship. I believe people brought here as children illegally who have lived in the USA consistently through their 18th birthday should also be able to earn citizenship through a process starting when they are 18. And I believe that anyone who commits a crime in the USA should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, citizens or not, and that someone in the USA illegally who commits a felony robbery, misdemeanor sexual assault or any sexual assault “above” that, misdemeanor manslaughter or anything “above” should be immediately deported – that includes DACA folks.
Not that anyone cares what I think…
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