Musings on Immigration

In 2005, after extensive investigation into the attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress passed the REAL ID Act. This act had a provision regarding drivers’ licenses that would make it more difficult for an individual or apply for a state driver’s license without proof of their real identity. The goal of this law was to prevent immigrants who are terrorists, like the 9/11 terrorists, from obtaining driver’s licenses. This would leave them with only a passport and no driver’s license, making them easier for law enforcement to detect. What effect did this law have in reality? A singling out of Hispanic and Asian immigrants who have no criminal history and who are not terrorists. Yet TSA might stop letting individuals travel with just a driver’s license from these states and will instead require a secondary form of ID to travel. A disproportionate number of Hispanic and Asian immigrants cannot obtain visas to enter the U.S. legally or have extremely long waits for visas because the U....

Thanks to the Real ID Act, it is impossible for most undocumented people to get driver’s licenses. This has created a real mess. Denying driver’s licenses to millions of undocumented immigrants has not only forced thousands of unlicensed and uninsured drivers onto our roads, making our roads more dangerous for everyone, it also has meant that vital information about all these people who are living here is not in our DMV database – the largest law enforcement database in the country. If I get into a car accident on the way to work, I want the person who hit me to have a license because I want them to have insurance. If a crime is committed against me, I hope that the criminal has a license because it will make it easier for the police to find that individual. Society doesn’t gain anything by refusing drivers licenses to the undocumented. Yes, it makes their lives a little bit more difficult but it doesn’t help the rest of us. Does the inability to obtain a license make it more likely th...