Driver's Licenses

Introduction

Prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, few states explicitly stated that illegal immigrants could not obtain driver's licenses. However, because many states required a social security number in order to obtain one, driver's licenses were de facto unavailable to illegal immigrants in most states. After it was revealed that the 19 hijackers on 9/11 had, among them, a total of 37 domestically obtained identity documents, including eleven state driver's licenses, many states rushed to change their laws to require proof of lawful immigration status. Although all licenses obtained by the hijackers were legal—issued by state Departments of Motor Vehicles—some had been obtained with other fraudulent documents. (Some of the hijackers had misrepresented their state residency but not their identities or their legal status.)

After 9/11, states were understandably concerned with tightening up their systems, particularly with those involved in proving residency. A debate over the wisdom of granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants ensued. (It is important to note, however, that the hijackers had entered the country legally, though several had overstayed their visas.)

In the Point essay, Michele Waslin argues that limiting immigrants' access to licenses undermines—rather than enhances—national security and that it has an “unintended harmful impact on legal immigrants and U.S. citizens.” She further argues that denying driver's licenses to illegal immigrants is a poor way to identify terrorists; does not reduce undocumented immigration; makes our roads less safe; and makes local law enforcement duties more difficult because immigrants will fear being reported to authorities and so will not report crimes to police and/or will clog local courts with a barrage of cases of the relatively minor crime of driving without a license. Waslin is firmly on the side that restricting driver's licenses is bad public policy.

In the Counterpoint essay, however, Julie Myers Wood argues that since illegal immigration itself is a violation of the law, undocumented persons should not be allowed the privilege of a driver's license. She holds firmly to the view that granting licenses to undocumented people “increases risks of fraud and criminal activity.” She bases much of her [Page 192]argument on one key fact: driver's licenses are not used solely for driving, but are used as primary documents that often “breed” other documents such as passports, birth certificates, firearms carry permits, hunting licenses, and school or daycare employment eligibility. While Waslin argues that the hijackers' possession of driver's licenses aided in the 9/11 investigation, Wood counters that they made it easier for the hijackers to commit their atrocities.

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