Huff Post is all agog that Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton 'avoided her slip up in the 2008 race' by heartily endorsing issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens.
The story comes right off the template of Left wing advocacy 'journalism' complete with citing a sympathetic Latino victim whose driver's license 'changed his life immeasurably.'
As she makes her second bid for the presidency, Clinton's position is far clearer and decidedly different. "Hillary supports state policies to provide driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants," a campaign spokesperson told The Huffington Post.
The driver's license issue is still politically fraught. Demographic changes that have made the Latino vote more important have helped shift the scales. But most Americans don't agree with the policy, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted this month. The survey found that 64 percent oppose driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, while 26 percent support the idea. Democrats are split, with 43 percent in favor and 46 percent against. Eighty-one percent of Republicans oppose allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's license
The article continues, citing the usual happy talk about how licenses for illegal aliens make them more apt to buy insurance and to report accidents, and improve public safety.
That said, let's look at the reality.
The majority of illegal aliens are not exactly rolling in money, even though a significant number of them receive government benefits while working off the books for cash at jobs like construction, gardening, and other service jobs. And some areas with high illegal alien populations like California are expensive places to live. So many of them tend to drive older vehicles.
While obtaining insurance is mandatory in California, many of the vehicles they drive are of low enough value that it makes more sense for them not to obtain insurance and pay the premium. If there's a wreck they're involved with, many times it's easier and less costly for them to just take off and or abandon the vehicle, especially if the vehicle is not registered with the DMV, which many times they aren't. The reasoning for many of these folks is 'why spend the money?'
Put yourself in their position. Would you pay a couple of thousand you didn't have for insurance when if anything bad happens, you can simply move on and get another car? And if you do happen to screw up and get cited for driving without insurance or get some inconvenient traffic tickets, why worry when getting a new license is just as easy as getting a new car?
You see, in many cases like that, a license makes no difference, especially given the reality of how they're obtained.
In places like California, matricular consular cards issued by the numerous Mexican consulates are accepted as sufficient ID to obtain a driver's license. For the going rate of $50-100 cash in hand to the right clerk, you can get one in any name you want with any address you give them, no questions asked...not to mention they're dead easy to forge.
So there's no problem, especially if a made up name is on the license. Easy to get another matricular consular card and a new license if you want one and just go buy another clunker.
And many times, that's exactly what happens, which is why most drivers with any sense whom aren't illegal aliens spend a chunk of money for uninsured motorist coverage.
My own case is an excellent example. I was rear ended while stopped in traffic by an illegal alien driving 60 MPH on a city street where the limit was 30 MPH. The car itself, an old VW was simply left there, and as it turned out it was borrowed from someone else, supposedly without their knowledge. They, of course had no insurance either, but told the police that the driver simply took off and of course they had no idea where he was.
I ended up being stuck having to wrestle with my insurance company over a settlement on my totaled car and having to deal with the trouble and expense of getting new wheels.
Of course, what Mrs. Clinton and the politicos backing this for Hispanic votes are considering has noting to do with vehicle safety at all.
There's a federal law that says that any driver's licenses given to anyone whose status in America is not legal has to be clearly differentiated from other driver's licenses. In California and a few other states, they aren't. Not only that, but illegal aliens who are getting driver's licenses are now appearing on the voter rolls, since they can register, citizen or not by simply checking a box.
Since California has no voter ID law, voter fraud using illegal aliens has been a factor since the 1980's but this makes it a real piece of cake.In California alone, over 500,000 illegal aliens and counting have already obtained licenses.
And by the way, don't think it's just illegal aliens who know how to work this. People who have ideas about staging terrorist attacks on what they see as the Great Satan know all about it too. Not that I'd expect Mrs. Clinton and her friends to be overly concerned, not when there's an election to be won...
Yes, I can certainly see why someone like Hillary would go ga ga over this blatantly illegal activity, but that doesn't make it right or healthy.
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