I'm for i t. I see no reason not to have licenses for all drivers in California.
With one small condition: Add to driver's licenses a residency status, which can be one of the following: US Citizen; Permanent Legal Resident; Temporary Legal Resident (expires _______ ), Other.
With that small change, I think driver's licenses for illegals are a wonderful idea. Let's get everyone documented!
Posted by Kevin Murphy at July 12, 2006 08:30 AMGov. Schwarzenegger offered a similar suggestion a couple of years back.
Posted by: Xrlq at July 12, 2006 10:30 AMThe State will mandate that all these new drivers must have auto insurance. Who's going to pay for that?
Posted by: clark smith at July 12, 2006 11:30 PMWell, gee, I pay for mine. I suppose they will have to pay for theirs, or not get a license. They can get an ID card under the same conditions.
Posted by: Kevin Murphy at July 13, 2006 08:13 AMYou're such a cute devil's advocate. I mean that in the most loving of ways. Seriously.
Ok, I'll bite.
Capitulate by giving the appearance of imprimatur with even one state issued document and watch them work the system even harder and faster, and get away with it even more. A licensed illegal alien goes to Macy's for a shirt. The clerk asks if he'd like to open a Macy's club card account and get 10% off. He says si. She asks for ID. In CA, you have to supply your SSN to get a driver license. If you are here illegally, you're not supposed to have a SSN. Sixteen year old clerk won't know and won't care if the license is the kind that requires a SSN. Credit agency needs a SSN. He provides a fake one that he uses for work but never gave to DMV because that would be illegal. Credit agency says ok. No scam is perfect forever. It just has to work long enough. And it all adds up.
Illegal alien doesn't speak English. He guesses at what the traffic signs say, but usually, he just doesn't care. He shouldn't be on the road at all. You know the rules. You cannot drive without your license on your person. No license, no drive. Take the bus, subway, bicycle or hitch a ride.
They will not pay for their insurance, you and I will. I was told, by a person who is used to doing this very scam, how to get around having insurance. They buy a policy, no matter how expensive, because they know it's just a "loan." They wait til they get the little ID card for their wallet. They cancel the policy, they get nearly all of their money back. Police don't care until they pull the illegal over or he has an accident. In CA, you have a fender-bender, the police are not interested. You're on your own.
I'm going to get a Corona now.