Illegal immigration has always been a controversial topic in the United States. Recently, the number of illegal immigrants in the United States exceeded 12 million. More than that, illegal immigrants are part of our society that includes colleagues, students, friends or even relatives. In most cases, illegal immigrants are portrayed as violent criminals, when in reality; Most of them are very poor and mainly from South America and Mexico, seeking only to meet their relatives in their country of origin families. Now the debate to give the right to obtain a driver’s license for undocumented aliens was all over the news -Titles, especially with upcoming presidential elections. According to Fox News Online, “New Mexico, Utah and Washington are the only states that allow undocumented drivers to possess a driver’s license. By giving a driver’s license to an undocumented worker will significantly reduce accidents hit and run, better monitoring of illegal immigrants and make our cities. Regardless of their legal status, all permanent residents of the United States should be able to get a driver’s license
The idea of an undocumented alien to get a driver’s license may seem unreasonable to some people. They believe that the issuance of a license will result in identity theft and other criminal activities. According to a recent article, a former officer of Immigration believes that “criminals often have multiple identities, hiding their true identities to escape detection when they are taken. This is a serious offense and can be not helpful. But the truth is that most undocumented workers who cross the border are not dangerous criminals , in fact , the same article states that ” It is only a relatively small amount of illegal immigrants who become involved in a serious business “. In addition, the National Immigration Law Center says that “immigrants do not come to this country to get a license lead, and they will not leave because they are not eligible for one.” Finally, security is of great concern to many police officers who believe that the reason there are so many accidents of life is because undocumented workers are not having driving licenses and insurance of their vehicles, they hunt or flee the scene of the accident, which makes our roads dangerous.
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Obtaining a driver’s license is not as easy in the United States than in other countries. Currently in Mexico, to obtain a driver’s license, no written or road tests are required. As the money is paid right then the license will be issued the same day. Most of immigrants come from Mexico. Some of them will become legal permanent residents and eventually get a US driver’s license. On the other hand, many others will drive without a license and will illegally stay in the country. That has a major security concern for many legitimate drivers and pedestrians in the United States. In addition, if an undocumented immigrant is able to obtain a license, then they must pass both a written and road test like everyone else , making them more fit to drive. According to a website that advocates for low-income immigrants, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety said that ” Unlicensed drivers are almost five times more likely to be in a fatal accident that holders of a valid driver’s license”
Some people would say that the license is a privilege, not a law. Yet these same people forget that the license is only allowed to drive a vehicle, not a proof of legal residence and / or paper. To get a job, a driver’s license is not enough. A valid green card and a Social Security number is required to apply to any work of minimum basic wage. We are Americans and we live in the land of opportunity and freedom. Base driving privileges should not be denied based on citizenship. Each state is different, but now in the state of Massachusetts, a undocumented drive cannot get a license. On the other hand, the Massachusetts law permits a foreign driving license with their country of origin for one year. The reality is that undocumented immigrants represent about 12 million people in our country, and our economy would be greatly devastated if we lose all these workers. A new documentary called Food Inc. portrays certain illegal immigrants as hard workers. Work up to 12 hours a day, only to get paid about $ 2.00 an hour. The documentary has predicted that the loss or deportation of all undocumented workers would collapse our economic infrastructure. In addition, our cost of living would be higher. According to National Public Radio in 2005, “about 3 percent of undocumented workers are involved in agriculture, 33 percent have jobs in service industries, and a large number can be found in construction and related occupations (16 percent), and in the production, installation and repair (17 percent) .There workers contribute a lot to us agriculture and economy.
By giving the right to obtain a license to any resident of the United States, regardless of legal status will benefit our law enforcement in many ways. By obtaining license, the interested candidate will have a photograph and address taken at the time of authorization obtained. This will greatly reduce identity fraud, which makes it easier to track someone if they were to commit a crime. In 2005, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the database driver’s license, are much the same time as the Ministry of database Homeland Security to track immigrants. ” If we deny licenses to illegal immigrants then we simply increase the pool of state residents who are not in a database to track outstanding warrants , offenders alimony and security threats national. No matter what we do, undocumented immigrants will continue to drive without a license. Why not make our streets a little safer by giving them a license legally. We should put in place several mechanisms to fight against fraud to improve the integrity of a license. This will include some safety features and fingerprints.
Al in all, Global illegal immigrants obtaining a license will still be a taboo in the United States, because of all the racism and the current paranoia about foreigners who want to take advantage of the system. It just makes sense to give illegals the right to drive. This may not be so easy in the years to come. In 2008, Congress passed a bill called the Real ID Act to toughen the standards for issuing driver’s licenses. This act would help block the sale of fraudulent identity such licenses or State ID ‘ S driver cards. A real identity card would be a birth certificate, social security number, date of birth, and identification number unique among other stringent requirements. The card would also have added security features such as a bar code, chip or even fingerprints. According to a researcher named CQ, this law states “All licenses are valid for federal purposes must comply Real ID in May 2013?. Until now, till now “Seven state legislatures have voted against it and 25 others are considering opposing the bill” While the future of real ID act is still very uncertain , it will affect thousands of undocumented workers who wish to obtain a license at the national level .
Work cited
Clark, Stephen. “States Revise Rules on Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Immigrants as National ID Approaches.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Cutler, Michael W. “States Should Not Issue Driver’s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants.”Practical Argument.Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin, 2011 24-26 Print.
“Fact Sheet: Why Denying Driver’s Licenses to Undocumented Immigrants Harms Public Safety and Makes our Communities Less Secure.”National Immigration Law Center. Practical Argument. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin, 2011 24-26 Print.
Clark, Stephen. “States Revise Rules on Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Immigrants as National ID Approaches.”Fox News. FOX News Network, 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Katel, Peter. “Real Id will the new driver’s license law make Americans safer.”CQ Researcher.Ed. Colin J. Thomas and Kathy Koch. Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc., May 2007, Volume 17 Number 17. Print.
