“Licenses for Illegal Immigrants”. New York Times (opinion). November 26, 2003 – “Right now, many illegal immigrants drive cars with neither licenses nor car insurance. Everyone would be better off if they were encouraged to acquire the driving skills necessary to get the licenses, and the protection of other motorists that comes with insurance.”
Well, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that the real test is what is best for the country.
In Plyler v. Doe, the court ruled 5 to 4 that states had to educate children who were in this country illegally.
To refuse them public education would lead to ‘the creation and perpetuation of a subclass of illiterates within our boundaries, surely adding to the problems and costs of unemployment, welfare and crime,’ the court said.
So you could argue it is a good idea to grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants because illegal immigrants will take driver’s education classes, pass driving tests, buy insurance, register their cars and be better, safer drivers, leading to a better, safer America.”
“Illegal Immigrants, Driver’s License Crash Into American Consensus”. Wired Magazine. October 04, 2007 – “New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer loves a fight. But his policy to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, announced just weeks ago, has even his closest loyalists in a sweat. His reasoning is that denying immigrants the legal right to drive hasn’t stopped them from driving. After all, they’re already breaking the law just by being here. By driving illegally, they don’t have insurance, which has contributed to more hit-and-run accidents as well as higher insurance premiums for everyone else.”
Sam Gomez. “Should illegal immigrants be granted Driver Licenses in New York State?” Clarkson Integrator. December 12, 2007 – “The last real benefit of the policy change is the most obvious; safer streets. We all remember taking driver ed, the signs, parallel parking, three point turns, the works. Obviously, people who do not have to pass that rigorous rite of passage known as ‘the driving test’ aren’t going to be well equipped to handle driving on congested roads. Not knowing the rules of the road aside, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that unlicensed drivers are five times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than validly licensed drivers. Clearly, safer roads would also be good for everybody.”
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