No to licenses for illegal immigrants

It is interesting that on the very morning that the Daily Herald announced ex-Gov. Ryan going to prison for, among other things, corruption in a system in which driver's licenses were granted to people who should not have gotten them, a column by Ruben Navarrette urges the issuance of driver's licenses to people who should not qualify because they are in the U.S. illegally.

The argument goes that if they pass the driver's test, etc., if they can read enough English to pass the test and understand traffic signals, road signs, if they are insured, if...if....if.

If licenses are granted to illegal aliens (or should they be called, "illegal licenses" to aliens), who is going to enforce the laws concerning language proficiency and insurance? If they don't enforce immigration laws, why shouldn't the public worry about the enforcement of traffic regulations?

I am still at a loss to understand why any government official, who can understand enough English to know what the word "illegal" means, would offer any encouragement to an illegal alien to do anything but to return home and quit breaking U.S. immigration laws. If government officials know the laws concerning illegal aliens, why are they doing anything but working with immigration offices to see that they are repatriated?

I wonder what a conversation between ex-Gov. Ryan and New York Gov. Spitzer would sound like?

Wightman Weese

Wheaton