Sanity Prevails as Massachusetts Sidelines Illegal Alien Driver’s License Bill
Recently, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Transportation voted to send House Bill (H.B. 3285) to study, effectively killing consideration of the legislation this session. H.B. 3285 would have removed the provision in Massachusetts law that requires an applicant to provide a Social Security Number for proof of identity in order to receive a driver’s license or learner’s permit. The bill would have also prohibited the registrar of the Department of Motor Vehicles from denying a driver’s license or learner’s permit to any person who fails to provide evidence of immigration status. The practical effect and purpose of this bill was to make illegal aliens eligible for Massachusetts’ driver’s license or learner’s permit.H.B. 3285 is bad public policy and should be opposed. It is not fair to constituents to continue to increase their taxes, cut their benefits and mortgage against their children’s futures while expanding benefits and privileges for illegal aliens. Providing driving privileges to illegal aliens will only encourage illegal aliens to remain in the state and continue to work in the underground economy for lower wages – severely undercutting American workers and yielding little to no tax revenue for the state. States must not invite illegal immigration to their state and place the fiscal burden of providing education, health care and other services to illegal aliens on the backs of taxpayers.H.B. 3285 also poses national security risks. Unlike legal immigrants, illegal aliens are not subject to stringent background checks or face-to-face interviews to determine the existence of any national security threat that they might pose. The September 11, 2001 terrorists carried among them over 30 state driver’s licenses and identification cards. These documents allowed them to obtain housing, transportation and other accommodations without raising suspicion while they planned and executed their deadly conspiracy.