Go Michigan!

Recently the Michigan State Attorney General overturned a previous ruling and now illegal aliens are denied driver’s licenses. New York had previously proposed a similar measure in 2007 but the outcry from the public and the media quickly caused the governor of that state to back away from the issue.

On the Detroit Free Press website, immigration attorney Faten Tina Shuker listed the typical arguments heard from those in favor of issuing driver’s license to illegal aliens:

By denying driver's licenses to a segment of Michigan residents, we are exposing ourselves to unlicensed and uninsured drivers. I don’t know about Michigan but in Ohio we are inundated with drunk drivers that continue to drive long after their licenses and insurance have been terminated. One individual had been arrested and convicted of DUI a record 19 times! I don’t see where issuing a driver’s license to an illegal alien makes us any safer or secure. Possession of a valid driver’s license is no guarantee that the driver will have insurance.

Restrictions will only create an underground mechanism and demand for fraudulent licenses. The current mechanisms that jeopardize our national security will become more powerful as the demand for service increases. The argument presupposes that such mechanisms will be increased as though they don’t exist already. I’m remain unconvinced that if driver’s licenses were to be issued to illegal aliens this would somehow have an adverse effect on the illegal identity trade. Furthermore, if an individual is here illegally I don’t see the incentive for them to obtain a legal document with their residence officially recorded. I can see a driver’s license (or some equivalent) being issued to driver’s who are here on some kind of visiting worker visa but outside of this instance it just seems as though and illegal alien would prefer not to have their home of record official documented.

Local law enforcement officers will be exposed to unidentifiable criminals, and their lives will be more in danger. The statement assumes that majority of the time a police officer questions someone they know they are dealing with a known criminal. Every police officer I’ve met has said a traffic stop is one of the most dangerous things in their line of work because you never know who is driving the car much less what their intentions may be. The individual could be an otherwise law abiding citizen but could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Their mental state could be deteriorated from an illness unrelated to drugs or alcohol. None of this is made any less dangerous by the issuance of a driver’s license to an illegal alien.

For the sake of our state's homeland security, we need to know who resides in our state instead of helping create an underground community. The majority of illegal aliens are here because they can’t make the same wages back home as they can in the United States. There is no incentive for them to get a driver’s license as most are able to work without one (or simple drive in the hopes of not getting stopped by police). The terrorists that enter the country here illegally are even less interested in obtaining some document that makes it easier for law enforcement to track their whereabouts.

While I see driver’s licenses for illegal aliens as failing to deliver on the claims of its proponents, I do agree with TSAs new background checks of pilots and other airline personnel. The Airline Pilot’s Association said they are concerned a no-fly list that regularly grounds members when they fly as passengers could prevent some of their ranks from reporting to work. While the union feels this is unnecessary due to the extensive and regular background checks pilots undergo, the issue does address a potential vulnerability. Pilots that are assigned to fly an aircraft are working with other crew members that can quickly identify if the pilot is a legitimate employee or not. The same cannot be said for an individual “dead-heading” as a passenger. The uniform and identification cards could be stolen or fake. For those airline personnel flying as passengers, I see it as prudent to have ALL passengers undergo the same level of security screening.

TSA procedures have successfully reduced the threat of a terrorists boarding flights. Despite reports of individuals being able to get various banned materials and substances through screeners, it should be noted that not a single instance has involved a terrorist. While I don’t believe the TSA processes are infallible, I do believe that the procedures have greatly reduced the possibility of a terrorist boarding as a passenger with some kind of weapon. I still believe a greater possibility resides in airline personnel being recruited for nefarious purposes. The other potential is for their credentials and uniforms to be stolen and an impostor poses as an airline employee to gain access to sensitive areas of the airport or aircraft. Shoring up security of passenger screening is only one part of deterring terrorists from using airlines or airports to launch some type of attack. If that means pilots and other airline personnel may have to undergo additional screening in order to travel as a passenger, then so be it. It should not be seen as somehow demeaning of the arduous training and background checks that pilots undergo, merely as a way of removing one more route for terrorists to use our airlines and airports against us.