Drivers Licenses for Illegal Aliens?

I agree. No no no no no licenses for illegal aliens.

On the other thing. I applaud Russert. I wish everyone would demand an answer from candidates in a debate (democrats and republicans). There is too much talking and not enough answering. Berman, if you are not sure about Obama's answer, then he must have talked for a couple of minutes instead of saying yes or no.

 

as lou dobbs would say, "what word in <strike>illeagle</strike>, that would be a sick bird, illegal alien dont they understand...NO TO ANYTHING FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS EXCEPT A FREE TRIP BACK TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 16 2007, 07:44 AM) [snapback]540472[/snapback]</div>

Agreed, no, no and no!

Mr. Blitzer was priased by the Clinton camp this morning as he should be given the fairly soft gloves he used with everyone on the stage.

 

An interesting dimension in this drivers license debate is that Mexico itself denies drivers licenses to foreigners who do not have valid visas.

Not legal? No Mexican driver's license for you

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("USA Today")</div>

 

Just to play devil's advocate, the upside of giving them all drivers licenses would be a nice long list for the INS to follow up on...

 

they're going to drive anyway, licensed or not, insured or not. that said, i don't think i would encourage it by offering a license to them.

 

If you use your home / plane / boat / car, to further criminal drug deals, the government can seize the property. I'm having a brain storm! I'd bet it would cause a lot of OTHER types of criminals to pause and take note.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Nov 16 2007, 09:51 AM) [snapback]540518[/snapback]</div>

I can tell you where a huge number of them is right now. Chicken, beef and pork plants. I go to different plants every week and they are full of them. Smithfield, NC has a huge pork plant and was recently raided and there were a ton of them there. They have to know these are the places where they are, but no major raids on the others. The Smithfield raid was just for show.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(roryjr @ Nov 16 2007, 10:50 AM) [snapback]540593[/snapback]</div>

I agree with you that the INS has to have better information than it does... unfortunately, however, our society has grown dependent on these illegal aliens. They are the ones that do the menial labor jobs that no one else wants to do in our elitist society. if the INS moved in and deported them all, we'd probably have major shortages, not only in meats, but also in harvests - food would rot on the trees/bushes/in the ground/trucks because there wouldn't be enough manual labor around to pick it all, or to process it. Now, i don't really have any good evidence to back that up (at least, i've never came across any studies oriented to answering the question of what would happen without illegal workers), and would welcome anyone with links

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 16 2007, 12:00 PM) [snapback]540603[/snapback]</div>

No. If they know INS is coming, they disappear for a few days. When they come back (either after disappearing or being deported), they have a new name. Why would they tell the truth on a driver's license that they don't need proof to get.

 

The only reason undocumented foreigners are here is that business wants them, and consumers want the lower prices that come of cheap labor. If business was not actively recruiting cheap labor and hiring people they knew were undocumented, the inflow would drop to an insignificant trickle.

But to answer the question: As a strong proponent of human rights, I favor the right of every person to travel freely. Therefore I regard immigration laws as illegitimate. And so I would grant drivers licenses to everyone of legal age who can pass the driving test. However, I would make the driving test into a real test of driving ability. There are a lot of citizens behind the wheel who should not be given drivers licenses because they cannot drive a car safely, and there are a lot of people driving SUVs who are incapable of handling a vehicle of that size.

For a start, I would take the driving license away from any person caught talking on a cell phone or eating while driving.

 

Wasn't it Arizona where they made it a crime to hire illegals and all the illegals left?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Nov 16 2007, 01:12 PM) [snapback]540612[/snapback]</div>

Right,
It certainly NOT for the purpose of walking into any hospital for free emergency care ... or welfare ... or higher quality of victims to comit crimes against ... no, it's strictly the good reasons.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 16 2007, 11:05 AM) [snapback]540609[/snapback]</div>

Of course, you're also ignoring the negative effects of a sudden crack down and deporting a significant number of them. Sure, you'll be able to get people into those jobs if you raise the wages enough - people will do anything for enough money. But what happens when the price of beef doubles or triples because of increased wages? I'll tell you what - either we suck it up, everyone pays more for their beef and, along with other items, we see a huge amount of inflation (definitely not good for the economy), or we trash our local economy and start importing from other places, like China...

Simply put, there's no easy solution for the problem we have now. You can call for deporting them all you want, but I for one don't want to see such a drastic amount of inflation or shortages for some items that would result. I think it's important to work towards correcting the problem, but i also don't think it's something we can reasonably fix anytime in the next 10-20 years - we'll only be able to slowly make it better if we start working on it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(roryjr @ Nov 16 2007, 09:13 AM) [snapback]540613[/snapback]</div>

I doubt it. It does no good to have a law against hiring undocumented workers unless you enforce that law, and the law will not be enforced because the people with the power (corporations) want the low-wage immigrants. And the politicos are not going to buck the real power of their backers.

They'll arrest a few, just to give the public the impression that they're doing something.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Nov 16 2007, 09:40 AM) [snapback]540631[/snapback]</div>

There are criminals and freeloaders in any group. From the board room to the street, and in every nationality. But the vast majority of immigrants (and this applies especially to Mexicans, who have a culture of hard work) come here to work. And by the taxes which their employers withhold from their paychecks (and undocumented workers cannot file for a tax refund for the excess) they are paying for whatever services they receive.

As for people using the emergency room instead of routine doctor visits, this happens across the board because we lack a national health plan. This is not an immigration issue.

As I've commented elsewhere, it's a common tactic of the lunatic fringe to pick out a group they dislike, often a group that's politically powerless, and accuse that group of being all lazy, shiftless, criminal freeloaders. I have heard the bigots and know-nothings make this accusation against Blacks, Indians, and immigrants. Many other groups have faced these and other accusations. But what it usually comes down to is the desire to deny to others the benefits you yourself have received from living in a prosperous, industrialized country.