Illinois’ bill (SB 957) to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens is moving quickly through the State’s Democrat controlled legislature. Yesterday, the Senate passed the bill 41-14. It is quickly gaining support of both Democrats and Republicans.

It Won’t Make Roads Safer
Giving driver’s licenses to illegal aliens in no way guarantees safer roads or that they will purchase insurance. The safest roads do not have unlawfully present people driving on them. New Mexico, one of only two states to grant driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, has the second-highest rate of uninsured drivers in the United States.

By the same token, it defies common sense to say that the best way to combat accidents by illegal aliens is to give them all drivers’ licenses. It’s disingenuous to argue that someone who has openly violated federal immigration laws by being in the country illegally is going to have any more respect for the driving laws.

It Poses National Security Risks
Granting driver’s licenses to illegal aliens makes them invisible to enforcement authorities by giving them the one document they most need to secure employment, transact business, and register to vote. This fact is especially disturbing considering that, 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.

It is additionally concerning that SB 957 expressly authorizes Illinois driver’s license officials to accept consular IDs and foreign passports as proof of identification. States do not have the capacity to verify the validity of these documents. Remember, the 19 September 11 hijackers carried among them over 60 state driver’s licenses.

Mindful of this, the first and most important recommendation of the 9/11 Commission was to tighten issuing requirements. Issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens – as Illinois intends to do – could not be more counterproductive to the Commission’s intent.

It Invites and Condones Illegal Immigration
Illinois already has a welcome mat out for illegal aliens and not surprisingly now has 550,000 persons residing unlawfully in the state costing taxpayers over $4.5 billion annually. Unless Illinois has a genuine interest in attracting even more illegal aliens, there can be no justification for extending privileges. The policy condones the presence of illegal aliens by providing them with driving privileges and a de facto identification document which allow them to continue to live and work in the country unlawfully – all while they and their children utilize public benefits and services.

Illinois, already a sanctuary state for illegal aliens, now wants to offer driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. A coalition of Illinois Democrats, Republicans, and illegal alien advocates are pushing the Legislature to pass a new driver’s licenses bill during its lame duck session.

The cash strapped state, which in recent years has raised taxes on individuals and businesses and cut services and benefits for legal residents, wants to expand the temporary driver’s license available to legal foreign nationals to illegal aliens. Supporters claim the license could not be used as valid identification and will help make Illinois roads safer by requiring illegal aliens to get insurance while also raising revenue for the state.

Of course, it defies common sense to argue that illegal aliens, having disregarded so many other laws, would obey the state’s car insurance requirement.

None of the bill’s supporters acknowledge the costs of allowing illegal aliens to continue to live, work, and travel freely in the state. With an unemployment rate above the national average at 8.8 percent, Illinois can ill afford to attract further illegal immigration to undercut legal workers and hand out valuable resources and services, including in-state tuition benefits and health care, to illegal aliens that should be reserved for legal residents.

It is no surprise that former Obama aide and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is an ardent supporter of the move. And, like national Republicans, Illinois Republicans have bought into the myth that supporting additional benefits for illegal aliens will win them the Hispanic vote. The last Illinois Governor not to be incarcerated, Republican Jim Edgar, says giving driver’s licenses to illegal aliens is “politically smart.”

Senate President, Democrat John Cullerton, thinks he has the votes to get a driver’s license bill through his chamber as early as this week. The position of Republican legislative leaders remains unknown. Meanwhile, Republican New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez is actively trying to end her state’s practice of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, citing national security concerns.

A group of California lawmakers has been pushing for driver’s licenses for illegal aliens for years. Now, President Obama’s unauthorized executive amnesty has triggered the legislature to extend the benefit to illegal aliens who qualify for deferred action – that’s about 450,000 people.

AB 2189 would reverse a 19-year-old California law, which requires that all applicants for state driver’s licenses provide evidence that their “presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.” However, state lawmakers in essence nullified this law by simply adopting language that “[a]ny federal document demonstrating favorable action by the federal government for acceptance of a person into the deferred action for childhood arrivals program shall satisfy [this requirement].”

The action taken by the California lies in stark contrast to that taken by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who issued an executive order clarifying that illegal aliens with deferred action are not eligible receive state benefits, including driver’s licenses. Other states continue to struggle with the chaos unleashed by the Obama Administration’s amnesty plan – especially when determining if, and under what circumstances, illegal aliens with deferred action are eligible for state benefits.

AB 2189 now sits on Governor Brown’s desk and some legislators are confident that the Governor will sign the bill into law.