Spring Break
Illegal Immigrants Don't Deserve A License
Dan Cunningham
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: Commentary
Legitimate policies can deal with the actual problems that illegal immigration causes. The group subverts the government by not having an enforceable tax code and is granted benefits that everyone receives as a result of the Entitlement Era. So, a new policy correcting either of these problems would be optimal in society. There are at least two extreme options that could be considered. The first would be to hire more border patrol and build thicker fences. However, if people want to enter the country badly enough, physical barriers will not stop them. Building walls and fortifying borders is implicitly flawed and will inevitably fail as immigration policy.
The second option is to make all of the illegal immigrants into citizens and then enforce the law. This is a simple and favorable concept, but the conservatives seem to feel that this is incredibly dangerous. This would be ironic, seeing as how the current generation's immigrants are primarily Catholic and voting more conservatively in elections. In fact, in the 2004 election, President Bush received far more support from the Hispanic community than he had four years prior. The onset of a more conservative Hispanic population is strongly correlated to the voter turnout of new immigrants. Even more ironic is the fact that the Democrats are pushing an immigration policy that undermines their long run success in elections.
Both attrition from immigration and open admittance are extreme long run goals in policy. Seeing as how those two options are unacceptable to the far left and right, there is a need for a policy that indirectly affects illegal immigrants. The poor need a policy that will put them, economically, on a level plain with those who are here illegally. A driver's license for illegal immigrants serves as a direct statement to the poor that their needs for a better life are less important than those of someone who is not a citizen. Those who supported any policy that would give a license to illegal immigrants should be ashamed of themselves for putting the needs of the black market above the needs of the lower class.
Staff columnist Daniel Cunningham is a 7th-semester economics major. He can be reached at Daniel.Cunningham@UConn.edu.
The second option is to make all of the illegal immigrants into citizens and then enforce the law. This is a simple and favorable concept, but the conservatives seem to feel that this is incredibly dangerous. This would be ironic, seeing as how the current generation's immigrants are primarily Catholic and voting more conservatively in elections. In fact, in the 2004 election, President Bush received far more support from the Hispanic community than he had four years prior. The onset of a more conservative Hispanic population is strongly correlated to the voter turnout of new immigrants. Even more ironic is the fact that the Democrats are pushing an immigration policy that undermines their long run success in elections.
Both attrition from immigration and open admittance are extreme long run goals in policy. Seeing as how those two options are unacceptable to the far left and right, there is a need for a policy that indirectly affects illegal immigrants. The poor need a policy that will put them, economically, on a level plain with those who are here illegally. A driver's license for illegal immigrants serves as a direct statement to the poor that their needs for a better life are less important than those of someone who is not a citizen. Those who supported any policy that would give a license to illegal immigrants should be ashamed of themselves for putting the needs of the black market above the needs of the lower class.
Staff columnist Daniel Cunningham is a 7th-semester economics major. He can be reached at Daniel.Cunningham@UConn.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Dave
posted 12/06/07 @ 11:47 AM EST
As my friend and co-worker Jose,A Mexican citizen legally here with a greencard says -no license,no job, no handouts,no problema,they will go home.I believe he might be thinking of the higher wages that will come without the flood of cheap labor that drives down wages for American and legal workers. (Continued…)
Kim O'Brien
posted 12/06/07 @ 12:16 PM EST
We are not lower class workers we are working class people. Calling us lower class workers is like calling a Black person a Negro. True our wages are partially determined by the number of workers available however the only way we can raise our wages is to struggle. (Continued…)
A Reader
posted 12/06/07 @ 12:34 PM EST
Here is a link to a pointed commentary that ridicules the idea of giving driver's licenses to illegals:
http://theconservativevoice.com/article/29063. (Continued…)
Larry
posted 12/06/07 @ 3:10 PM EST
A driver license opens the door for a lot of things which a "ILLEGAL ALIEN" does not deserve. http://www.numbersusa.com
Bobby
posted 12/06/07 @ 3:48 PM EST
When you come to this nation illegally (not through legal channels)then you really don't deserve anything but to be sent back to where you came from. This may be disturbing for some folks to hear, but that is their defect not the laws. (Continued…)
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