Yesterday Governor Tim Pawlenty unveiled his plan, which he seems to do every year about this time, to crackdown on illegal immigration. A local TV station reported him as saying ” ‘We can’t have a system, a secure system of identity and drivers licenses and other things, that is rampant with fraud,” the Governor said . . . .’ “
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=491973
I wonder how we got this way? hmmm . . . I content that Governor Pawlenty is responsible for the large amount of fraud we have, if indeed we have it.
A few years ago Governor Pawlenty pushed to require residents of Minnesota to provide evidence of valid immigration status to obtain a driver’s license or ID card. When the legislature wouldn’t make this change, he moved to creating an administrative rule change at the Department of public Safety — a much more secretive process. I argued strenuously against this move at public hearings on the change to the Driver’s License requirements by stating that it is better for public safety if the police officers know who it is they are arresting when presented with a driver’s license.
I argued that it was absurd to content that undocumented immigrants would leave Minnesota if the state required legal immigration status in order to be issued a state driver’s license. Rather, the state could would be helping to create an underground false identity document business. My view is that people will not leave if they can’t get documents; they leave if they can’t get a job. If they can’t get legal documents, they will find a way to get fraudulent documents. People need to feed their families. I was a shrill voice in the minority paying attention to the details of the issue.
The State changed the requirements anyway.
A few years later, Governor Pawlenty is complaining that we have a system which is rampant with fraud. And we have to spend more state money trying to fix this problem–which he had a large part in creating.
We need immigration reform at the national level, not short-sighted state politics.
Peace,
Elizabeth
