All but a couple of states deny driver’s licenses to illegal aliens — an important element of a policy of attrition through enforcement, given that licenses are an integral part of our national ID system. But it doesn’t help law enforcement that much — I’ve been driving since 1977 and have only been stopped by police, and asked for my license, three times (I deserved all three stops). After all, the drunk-driving illegal-alien nun-killer had had his license revoked, but no one noticed until it was too late.
That’s why denying illegals aliens license plates for their cars is so important. You can make a full stop at every stop sign, drive the speed limit, and signal at every turn, but if you have expired or forged or non-existent plates, someone’s going to pick up on it pretty quick.
That’s why, as a friend of my colleague David North told him once, “what the illegals really want, in addition to amnesty, is a set of valid license plates for their cars.” Accordingly, North looked into the issue and found, as reported in a new report, that lots of illegals live in states where they can’t get licenses but where they can get plates – states like Florida and Texas, Massachusetts and Virginia.
Looking for something state-specific that you can do to fight illegal immigration? Replicating the Arizona law is fine, but plugging the license-plate loophole is important, targeted, uncomplicated, and not subject (yet) to the trespass of meddlesome judges.