AB 60 is now on its way to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for his signature. If you are in California, please call Governor Jerry Brown NOW at 916-445-2841 and tell him to veto this bill.
Unlike legal immigrants, illegal aliens are not subject to any background checks or face-to-face interviews to determine the existence of any national security threat that they might pose. Remember, the 19 terrorists who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks held more than 30 state driver’s licenses and ID cards among them.
The threat of a terrorist attack coming from someone who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexican boarder remains very real. Earlier this week, Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) asked retired Army Major General Robert H. Scales about this possibility during a Congressional hearing regarding Syria.
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Earlier today, FAIR also issued a statement explaining the dangers of AB 60:
The report of the blue ribbon commission investigating the attacks of 9/11 clearly stated that the ability of the terrorists to obtain valid, government-issued identity documents facilitated their ability to plan and execute the deadly attacks. In response, Congress enacted the REAL ID Act in 2005, with the intent of discouraging state governments from issuing driver’s licenses and other identity documents to illegal aliens under threat of invalidating those documents for federal identification purposes. AB 60 is designed to circumvent requirements of REAL ID Act, ignoring the serious homeland security threats the federal law sought to address.
Although the licenses may not be used for federal identification purposes, AB 60 includes explicit protections for holders of these documents. In particular, the bill makes it “a violation of law to discriminate against an individual because he or she holds or presents a license issued under these provisions.” The bill also bars police from using these driver’s licenses as a basis for arresting or detaining an individual for violations of federal immigration laws.
In addition to increasing national security risks, AB 60 also brings other consequences to Californians:
• AB 60 only requires documents that are easy to forge or obtain illegally.
Illegal aliens by definition do not have valid U.S. identification or work authorization documents. Therefore, they depend on foreign or forged documents when necessary. AB 60 expressly authorizes California DMV officials to accept a slew of foreign documents as proof of identification. The California DMV does not have the capacity to verify the validity of such documents.
• AB 60 only encourages more illegal immigration.
A California driver’s license is a state benefit. Providing public benefits to illegal aliens only rewards illegal behavior and invites further illegal immigration to a state that already has the highest population of illegal aliens in the country!
• AB 60 hurts California’s unemployed.
The California unemployment rate is up to 8.6%, which surpasses the national unemployment rate of 7.3%. Granting driver’s licenses to illegal aliens makes it easier for them to find jobs. Becauseemployers get away with paying lower wages, this undercuts opportunities for those with legal work authorization in the U.S. and yields little to no tax revenue for the state.
• AB 60 wastes California taxpayer dollars.
In times of scarce resources and budget cuts, California taxpayers should not have to shoulder the burden of providing education, health care and other services to illegal aliens who are subject to immediate deportation under federal law.
• AB 60 will not make California’s roads safer.
AB 60 in no way guarantees safer roads or that illegal immigrants will purchase insurance. The state of New Mexico grants driver’s licenses to illegal aliens AND has the second highest percentage of uninsured drivers in the country. While many states’ laws require all motorists to have auto insurance, there is no reason to think that illegal aliens, having disregarded so many other laws, would obey this one, nor have the cash available or incentive to acquire auto insurance.