PD Editorial: A green light for immigrant licenses

Federal officials signed off on the design for California driver’s licenses that will be available to illegal immigrants beginning next year.

Reaction to the decision last week by the Department of Homeland Security was predictable and myopic.

Predictable were rants such as this one posted on the Sacramento Bee’s website, “just think how much safer the roads would be if these invaders just stayed home and drove on their own roads.”

Myopic is the notion that withholding driver’s licenses will somehow make California’s roads safer or solve the problem of illegal immigration.

At a minimum, it’s choosing politics over common sense.

There are an estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, including about 2.5 million in California.

Many of them drive.

Driving is practically a necessity, especially for anyone who works in rural areas that aren’t served by public transit. Drivers who aren’t properly trained are a threat to anyone else on the road – other drivers and their passengers, bicyclists and pedestrians.

True, a license is a widely accepted form of identification, and having one could make life easier for someone who entered the country illegally or overstayed a visa. For those who oppose leniency, creating an inconvenience may make sense.

But being unlicensed doesn’t stop people from driving - whether they’re in the country illegally or not.

Obtaining a license, on the other hand, requires a person to demonstrate his or her skills behind the wheel and to pass a test on safety rules and the state vehicle code. That’s in the best interests of everyone else on the road.

Another argument in opposition was that it could be exploited by terrorists to get aboard airplanes. That concern should be alleviated by the design that won federal approval, which includes the “federal limits apply” on the front of the license, signaling that it can’t be used to board an airplane or enter a federal building.

Many law enforcement officials believe that issuing licenses to undocumented immigrants will result in fewer hit-and-run accidents.

And, as we noted when the bill passed out of the Legislature, it also might alleviate a variety of concerns about vehicle impounds.

At sobriety checkpoints and traffic stops, police can impound cars from unlicensed drivers for 30 days. Immigrant rights groups say storage fees are so high that many people abandon impounded cars, making it harder for them to get to work. Avoiding costly impounds is a strong incentive to obtain a license.

With licenses available, police may be able to take a harder line on impounding cars. Extending the impound policy to uninsured drivers would be yet another step toward making the roads safer.

The broader issues of immigration must be addressed by Congress. Unfortunately, federal lawmakers have shown little interest in tackling the issue. President Barack Obama considered taking executive action, but he decided to wait.

Meanwhile, millions of people already are here illegally - more than the combined populations of Oregon and Washington, if estimates are correct. If they’re driving, they should be trained and licensed. Eleven states already issue licenses. California’s roads will be safer when the Golden State becomes No. 12.