It should not shock anyone that when government offers a benefit, there will be takers of that benefit.
New Mexico, Utah and Washington state do not require that driver’s license applicants present proof of U.S. citizenship or of legal residency in the United States. So it is no surprise that growing numbers of illegal aliens are seeking licenses in those states. Some illegals, in fact, have moved to those states specifically to obtain licenses.
The Associated Press rummaged through records in New Mexico, Utah and Washington and found that they are handing out ever higher numbers of licenses to people who have no right to be in this country in the first place. All three states appear to be on track to give out more licenses to illegals this year than they did in previous years.
In Utah, for instance, 41,000 illegal aliens got licenses through just the first five months of this year – compared with 43,429 issued in all 12 months of 2008. At its current pace, Utah will hand out nearly 100,000 licenses to unlawful immigrants by the end of this year.
The trouble is that it confers false legitimacy on lawbreakers.
While a driver’s license does not legally confer citizenship, a license is used to obtain many benefits in this country that ought to be reserved to U.S. citizens or legal immigrants.
Illegal aliens should not be entitled to any official government documentation in any state.