Just in time for the 2020 election…the state of New York is falling all over themselves to make sure illegal aliens have driver’s licenses.
According to a 2008 report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States, Michigan had an impossible 102.54 percent of eligible voters registered to vote in this state. The study found that despite a Voting Eligible Population of 7,285,960, Michigan actually had 7,470,764 individuals registered for the 2008 election.
On January 22, 2008, following the election of Barack Obama, Michigan announced it would no longer let illegal immigrants obtain driver’s licenses, a practice just seven other states continue to allow.
The state of New York is now set to fund a campaign to help illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses in 2020.
Judicial Watch reports – This month New York will become the 13th state in the U.S. to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses and officials in counties throughout the Empire State warn they are not equipped to handle the predicted onslaught. One state lawmaker is offering free care for the children of illegal aliens who attend a workshop to help them navigate the process of obtaining a license. More than half a million undocumented immigrants are expected to qualify and all they need is an expired passport, consulate identification or license from their country of citizenship.
Local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) clerks throughout New York are deeply concerned about their ability to authenticate the unfamiliar documents—written in foreign languages—acceptable under the new law to obtain a license. One county clerk in the state’s eastern region said in a local news report that his office, which services a population of about 160,000, will not issue licenses to illegal aliens and instead will let the state deal with the applicants. “They want to us to make a decision right at the window as to whether something is fraudulent or acceptable,” Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola said in the article. “I’m not going to make a major mistake.” In the state’s southern tier, Chemung County Clerk Catherine Hughes blasted lawmakers for leaving her and her colleagues to deal with the mess. “They don’t really realize the ramifications that it causes by doing something like this,” said Hughes, who serves a population of about 90,000. “There are no set of rules and regulations on how to get it done. And that puts us county clerks in a very precarious situation because we don’t know how to do it.”
Officials in some New York counties have filed lawsuits to block the measure, officially called the Driver’s license Access and Privacy Act but popularly known as the Green Light Law, from being implemented. It was passed by the legislature over the summer and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo after he was assured federal immigration officials would not be able to obtain DMV records. That’s where the “privacy” portion of the bill’s language comes in. Officials in several counties—including Erie, Monroe and Rensselaer—are suing to thwart the law, which is scheduled to take effect on December 14. New York State Senator Julia Salazar, a former community organizer and proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America, announced this week that she is holding an “informational session” to guide illegal immigrants through the process of obtaining a license. Free childcare will be provided, according to the announcements, which were issued in English and Spanish.
Besides New York, a dozen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. They include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Vermont and Washington. More than half of the states passed their measures in 2013. In 2019 several states—including Florida, Kansas, Minnesota and North Carolina—introduced legislation to grant illegal aliens driver’s licenses, but those haven’t been resolved and it’s not clear if they’ll pass. This week the Department of Justice (DOJ) challenged New York’s soon-to-be-implemented measure, writing in a federal court filing that it conflicts with federal law.
Illegal aliens involved in drunk driving accidents in America is a huge problem. Will illegal aliens be more likely to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking if the these states provide them with legitimate driver’s licenses?
According to the Conservative Review – An April 2010 NHTSA report addressing the problem of drunk driving among Hispanics noted that “many in the Latino community have not absorbed the message that drinking and driving is dangerous.” They report that “research has shown that Latino adolescents are at a greater risk of driving after drinking and are nearly twice as likely to ride with drinking drivers than non-Latinos.” Another report noted, “In 2002, motor vehicle traffic crashes were the leading cause of death for Latinos age 3 to 8, 11, 14 to 34, and 37.” Yet another report states that in 2009, “nearly one third” of those killed in alcohol-related crashes in Colorado were Hispanic. At the time, Hispanics composed less than 20 percent of the state’s population. The only demographic with a higher rate of drunk driving, according to NHTSA reports, is Native Americans.
According to a May 2006 NHTSA report, 42 percent of all Latino drivers fatally injured in car accidents had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level over 0.08 g/dL, as compared to just 29 percent of white drivers and 31 percent of black drivers. One 2016 study (Romano et al.) found, “Compared with permanent residents, undocumented drivers are more likely to binge drink, less likely to understand DUI laws, and less likely to perceive the risks associated with DUI – three factors largely associated with high DUI rates.”
Watch this Conservative Review report on illegal aliens and drunk driving in America:
