Friday, a commonsense law passed by the Florida legislature that ends recognition of driver’s licenses issued to illegal aliens by other states went into effect.
This law is part of a package of laws passed by the Florida legislature that was enacted as a reaction to Joe Biden’s refusal to react to the illegal immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border. The bill, known as SB1718, in addition to the driver’s license provisions, imposes penalties on businesses that knowingly hire illegals and requires hospitals that accept Medicaid (edited) to ask about citizenship status. The bill also allocates $12 million to transport illegals to other, more welcoming states despite the bizarre “kidnapping” allegations hurled at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by the left.
Currently, 18 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oregon
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
The laws granting illegals a driver’s license vary from state to state. Some states issue a special license that specifies it is not proof of identification. Others, like New Jersey, make no such arrangement.
The law mandates two types of documents. One is the Real ID under federal guidelines, and the other is a standard driver’s license that any New Jersey resident can obtain without discrimination based on immigration status. It is also prohibited to disclose the personal information of those who have the standard driver’s license for immigration-related purposes unless there is authorization from the individual.
Most states — I think it is accurate to say “all,” but I’ll stick with “most” — that issue driver’s licenses to illegals do not necessarily require a driving test. They just require some sort of proof that the person was allowed to drive in whatever country they are absconding from.
According to CBS News, this law that keeps unqualified drivers off the road is “controversial.”
“We are hearing people are starting to leave,” Yvette Cruz with the Farmworkers Association of Florida told CBS News of reports of migrant workers abandoning fields and construction projects. “We’re just gonna keep seeing that more as the law will take effect.”
I think Ms. Cruz is unclear on the concept. Illegals leaving Florida is a feature, not a bug. Illegals depress wages, and any organization interested in its members’ welfare, like farm workers, should want to limit the number of illegals on the market. We are all interested in ensuring that we don’t have people with sketchy driver’s licenses on the road.
Some of the defenses are nearly hilarious. This is from the former mayor of Boston and Democrat party apparatchik Martin Walsh.
According to a recent study, since implementing this change, Connecticut has seen a major reduction in hit-and-run crashes — 9% between 2016 and 2018 — and a steep decline in the number of people found guilty of driving without a license.
The report also says, “The state didn’t compile hit-and-run crash data before 2015.”
Ultimately, this is all presidential politics. When Governor Ron DeSantis signs laws affecting immigration, there is an uproar. The open-borders crowd wants to prevent any law or action that will limit illegal immigration. The cheap labor crowd goes nuts because they see their bottom line in danger, and the last time they cared about American workers, Harry Truman was in the White House. But, as with so many issues of concern to Americans, Florida and DeSantis are showing everyone how it’s done.
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