Driver license policies for undocumented immigrants

Political Science - Immigration

There are a number of important political and social issues facing the United States in this year of presidential politics, and immigration is among those key issues. Getting a driver's license is one particularly controversial issue relating to illegal immigrants. A Sacramento Bee story (Sanders, 2012) explains that legislation in California sponsored by Democrat Assemblyman Gil Cedillo will allow certain undocumented immigrants in the state to obtain driver's licenses. "It's important to all Californians that we have motorists who are licensed, tested and insured," Cedillo explains.

He went on to say that those immigrants who qualify for a driver's license "…are people who are going to be contributing to our economy by seeking work, or pursuing educational goals" (Sanders, p. 2). In other words, if illegal immigrants -- who wish one day to achieve citizenship but are not yet citizens -- wish to work, or are working, they are making a contribution to the American economy. California is a big state with numerous large cities and public transportation is not always available in those urban areas, so having the ability to drive a car is very important to any employed person.

Governor Jerry Brown has signed that legislation, allowing certain groups of illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses. According to Andrew Malcolm writing in Investors Business Daily, while the bill only affects certain "…undocumented young people in the nation," it will give those estimated "350,000 illegals" a "government-issued ID used to identify voters, although as non-citizens they are not so entitled" (Malcolm, 2012, p. 2). Clearly Malcolm is a supporter of Mitt Romney and uses this article to attack not just Governor Brown but President Barack Obama. Malcolm accepts Romney's rhetoric regarding immigration -- "Obama's failure" -- and Malcolm cynically mentions the fact that those eligible for driver's licenses must pay $31 for their licenses, which could "…reap the state almost $11 million in found money" (if all $350,000 eligible immigrants get licenses), as though it was a matter of raising revenue for California rather than bringing a sense of fairness and justice to certain immigrants who are eligible for the program (Malcolm, p. 2).

What Malcolm skipped over in terms of his explanation of why Brown signed this bill into law is the fact that at the national level, President Obama has issued an Executive Order that delays deportation for an estimated 800,000 immigrants who were brought into the U.S. By their parents (who were not legal immigrants). Obama did not offer amnesty, but he did present a deal to illegal immigrants who were brought into the country by their parents when they were under the age of 16, and have resided in the country for at least 5 years (Mason, et al., 2012).

An article in the respected news service, Reuters, points out that those eligible for the extensions (and to avoid deportation) must not "…pose a risk to national security," must not have been arrested for a serious crime, and must be in school, "…or have graduated from high school or be honorably discharged from the U.S. military" (Mason, p. 2). A similar measure called the "Dream Act" (The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) passed through the U.S. House of Representatives but could not get the 60 votes it needed in the U.S. Senate because of a Republican filibuster. So when Republicans blocked the Dream Act, Obama believed he had no choice but to issue an Executive Order ("Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals") and in effect offer the chance for about 800,000 illegal immigrants to get work permits and be legal for at least two years (they can renew their work permits if they comply with the particulars of the legislation (Mason, p. 2).