Con

“In an increasingly security-conscious America, access to driver’s licenses by people in the country illegally poses serious risks and undermines U.S. immigration law. Proponents of issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens have argued that it would improve national security and road safety. The security argument is spurious, because illegal aliens often use aliases and phony documents, so the alien’s identity and residence is not established as a result of the driver’s license process…

The argument about road safety relies on a faulty assumption that if illegal aliens are legally licensed to drive, they will all have accident insurance. But even if a state requires automobile insurance as a condition of getting a license, that does not keep an illegal alien from canceling the policy the next day. Illegal aliens generally are working in low-wage jobs and have difficulty affording insurance, and their cars are frequently older and more accident-prone.

Additionally, illegal aliens often are not able to read road alerts in English. In many of the countries from which illegal aliens come, it is standard practice for motorists involved in accidents to flee the scene. The combination of these factors adds up to the probability that, if more illegal aliens were encouraged to drive by issuing them driver’s licenses, it would lead to more accidents caused by uninsured motorists and many would be hit and run.”

Oct. 2005