Security Concerns Spell Trouble for Il. License Bill
“A new bill to permit 250,000 illegal immigrants to receive driver’s licenses could be in big trouble in Illinois. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), the group that is behind the bill, is fending off blows from Illinois law enforcement over the bill’s lack of security safeguards,” the Washington Times reports.
“Opponents say the bill was stripped of key safety and security provisions once it gained political support and outrage has set in. In Springfield, state police chiefs are opposing the bill, SB957, demanding that safeguards be put back in.”
Economist Editors Endorse Population Ponzi
“Although America’s fiscal problems are among the worst in the rich world, its policymakers long took comfort that, when it came to demography, its outlook was one of the best. Because Americans have so many babies and welcome so many immigrants, they had more room to deal with the coming burden of pensions and health care for the elderly,” the Economist editorializes.
“Growth in its labour force has slowed dramatically since the recession; in November it was only 1% larger than at the end of 2007, a period in which the working-age population grew by 5%.”
Border Patrol to Stop Providing Interpretation for Agencies
“U.S. Border Patrol agents will no longer serve as interpreters when local law enforcement agencies request language help, according to a new decree issued by the Department of Homeland Security. The new guidance said agents should refer such requests to private services often used by government agencies,” the Washington Post writes. “Seeking language help is a common practice among local law enforcement agencies in Washington state. If a person is pulled over and can only speak Spanish, the U.S. Border Patrol is often called.”
It’s Not Enough to Know History, Drawing the Right Lesson Matters As Well
GOP Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson says that since many Texans (of the early 1800s) moved there illegally when Texas was Mexican territory, he supports rewarding illegal immigration today with amnesty. “Long before President Obama’s re-election, after which prominent Republicans said their party needed to show Hispanics a gentler position on immigration reform, Patterson used Texas history to promote a softer and more nuanced view of what to do with people who have come here without work papers. At Republican clubs around the state, he tells them that the first immigrants were white Americans — and that many of them were here illegally,” the Texas Tribune writes.