Illegal Immigrant Driver's License Bill
I don't even have the energy to explain why I think this is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of. Suffice it to say, I think one should get their citizenship status taken care of before they worry about things like a driver's license. In fact, before an illegal immigrant is eligible for a driver's license, I think they should have to have medical insurance and if they are going to drive, they sure as hell ought to have auto insurance.
ANYWAY.
Some of the (apparently Hispanic -- e.g., Cedillo, Calderon, Nunez, Coto) Assembly members arguing in favor of this bill were crying racism and taking issue with terms like "illegal aliens." Well, guess what? One of several defintions of "alien" that actually apply to people who are here from other countries is "an unnaturalized foreign resident of a country." So take issue if you like. It is what it is -- you don't have to like it in order for it to be fact. Blah, blah, blah -- the point of this post is that one item in the story I read troubled me more than the others: "'The hatred and bigotry in this room is palatable,' said Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach."
Uh, don't you mean "palpable?"
Great. The people who have a great deal to do with the laws that get passed in this state apparently couldn't pass a high school vocabulary test, but they can be mad as hell and let everyone know they're not gonna take it anymore. How much do you make? Is it six figures? Can I take your place and vote for some things in ways that would actually make sense?
Hatred and bigotry. Because everyone doesn't want to sign their names to this farcical way of allegedly dealing with illegal immigration? If they're here illegally, they need to go. If you want them to stay, help them process the paperwork and jump through the hoops they need to in order to become citizens. Hold them to the same standard that the rest of us are held to. I have a driver's license. I have health insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, current registration, pay into my retirement account, pay my taxes, follow the fucking rules of the road and socially accepted standards of behavior. Why is this the only country I ever hear catching grief for expecting people to follow the fucking rules? You think you can go to Mexico and do whatever the hell you want? Sure, if you want to end up rotting in a Mexican jail with no rights as a non-citizen. I mean really -- when I came back from Cancun this Summer, do you think I could have just cried "racism" and bypassed the baggage checkers? Could I have marched past customs? Could I drive around Mexico with no insurance and not suffer any consequences? Could I go in and out of the country without my birth certificate and driver's license and having a tourist visa? Uh, how 'bout no. I imagine other countries have their rules, too. And if I went there, I'd damned sure follow them.
Sorry, but if you pull someone over and that someone is not a citizen of the country they're driving in, and has no documentation evidencing their right to be here, I don't give a shit if they've taken a driving test. Get out. Get the right paperwork. I don't know about you, but I've had to fill out an I-9 form for every job I've had, evidencing my eligibility to work in the U.S. Are the agricultural and janitorial (for example, don't give me any crap about stereotypes) and other employers exempt from these requirements? Those are the rules -- and I'm tired of people who think they don't have to follow the rules if they play dumb or are actually dumb. Enough with the special rules and accommodations. It's time for our government to step up and do its actual job -- and, for the record, the job ain't handing out driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
No matter how you spin it.
ANYWAY.
Some of the (apparently Hispanic -- e.g., Cedillo, Calderon, Nunez, Coto) Assembly members arguing in favor of this bill were crying racism and taking issue with terms like "illegal aliens." Well, guess what? One of several defintions of "alien" that actually apply to people who are here from other countries is "an unnaturalized foreign resident of a country." So take issue if you like. It is what it is -- you don't have to like it in order for it to be fact. Blah, blah, blah -- the point of this post is that one item in the story I read troubled me more than the others: "'The hatred and bigotry in this room is palatable,' said Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach."
Uh, don't you mean "palpable?"
Great. The people who have a great deal to do with the laws that get passed in this state apparently couldn't pass a high school vocabulary test, but they can be mad as hell and let everyone know they're not gonna take it anymore. How much do you make? Is it six figures? Can I take your place and vote for some things in ways that would actually make sense?
Hatred and bigotry. Because everyone doesn't want to sign their names to this farcical way of allegedly dealing with illegal immigration? If they're here illegally, they need to go. If you want them to stay, help them process the paperwork and jump through the hoops they need to in order to become citizens. Hold them to the same standard that the rest of us are held to. I have a driver's license. I have health insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, current registration, pay into my retirement account, pay my taxes, follow the fucking rules of the road and socially accepted standards of behavior. Why is this the only country I ever hear catching grief for expecting people to follow the fucking rules? You think you can go to Mexico and do whatever the hell you want? Sure, if you want to end up rotting in a Mexican jail with no rights as a non-citizen. I mean really -- when I came back from Cancun this Summer, do you think I could have just cried "racism" and bypassed the baggage checkers? Could I have marched past customs? Could I drive around Mexico with no insurance and not suffer any consequences? Could I go in and out of the country without my birth certificate and driver's license and having a tourist visa? Uh, how 'bout no. I imagine other countries have their rules, too. And if I went there, I'd damned sure follow them.
Sorry, but if you pull someone over and that someone is not a citizen of the country they're driving in, and has no documentation evidencing their right to be here, I don't give a shit if they've taken a driving test. Get out. Get the right paperwork. I don't know about you, but I've had to fill out an I-9 form for every job I've had, evidencing my eligibility to work in the U.S. Are the agricultural and janitorial (for example, don't give me any crap about stereotypes) and other employers exempt from these requirements? Those are the rules -- and I'm tired of people who think they don't have to follow the rules if they play dumb or are actually dumb. Enough with the special rules and accommodations. It's time for our government to step up and do its actual job -- and, for the record, the job ain't handing out driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
No matter how you spin it.
posted by PlatinumGirl at 7:15 AM
3 Comments:
i think they should get their licenses. just for the fact that some of them will drive anyway, and they won't be insured. why should i pay more insurance to make up for the uninsured drivers?
fuck 'em.
well said, P.G.! i'd vote for you.
LE: Unfortunately, that assumes they would buy insurance. Just like American citizens who drive around with licenses but no insurance every day, I don't expect the illegal immigrants to be any different. They won't even put money in the banks here -- theirs is largely a cash & carry existence.
Gary: I can scarcely imagine the hell of a political campaign!
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