Republican State Senator in Rhode Island Fights to Strip Immigrants of Drivers Licenses
Sunday, March 20, 2005 at 01:17PM
TheSpook
On
March 10, Sen. Walaska introduced the Rhode Island Driver’s License and
Identification Security Act, a bill that would require anyone taking an
examination or road test for a driver’s license, state identification
card or permit (renewals and first-time applications) to provide two
forms of identification. Of course, the DMV already requires several
forms of corroborating identification for new license applications and
a valid Social Security Number or "documentation (such as a visa) to
validate (your) ineligibility for a Social Security Number," but these
standards are executive policy, said Walaska, not state law. Making an
executive order into state law would not place its guiding principles
beyond repeal, Sen. Walaska acknowledged, but it would make repeal more
difficult. Sen. Walaska said his bill would help synchronize Rhode
Island’s General Laws with national security interests. According to
Sen. Juan Pichardo, Providence, until federal agents deport the
5,000-plus illegal, undocumented immigrants currently living in Rhode
Island, it’s the state’s responsibility to make sure they’re not
driving around without licenses, instruction or insurance. "We had one
case where a young man lost his mother (in a car accident). The person
behind the wheel of the other vehicle was an undocumented immigrant who
was unlicensed and uninsured, and the family had no legal recourse,"
said Sen. Pichardo. "The reality is, we, at the state level, have many
people living here illegally who receive services and drive on our
streets. But we’re not INS, we shouldn’t be dealing with the
immigration problem, that should have been dealt with at the federal
level. We just want a safer community - safer streets." [more]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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