by Rep. Chris Millis
(Unless Part IX is Removed – The Driving Permit for Illegal Immigrants
I truly believe that the sponsors of House Bill 786 have good intentions, but good intentions do not always lead to good results. It is my opinion that regardless of the good intentions that this bill may have, the results could be potentially harmful. Allow me to explain why I believe the pros of House Bill 786 do not outweigh the cons, and why I will be opposing this bill from passage into law unless Part IX is removed. It is my understanding that the intent of House Bill 786 is to make our state safer by increasing the penalties surrounding false identification documents, forbidding the use of matricular consular cards, and to separate the State’s illegal immigrant population into two categories: the good actors who desire to abide by the laws of the State and the bad actors who do not. The bill sponsors and supporters are trying to improve the situation surrounding illegal immigration in the State but their solution may be worse than the problem.
The problem of illegal immigration is primarily due to Federal irresponsibility. This Federal irresponsibility includes a lack of border security, a broken guest worker program, and the lack of enforcement of our Nation’s immigration laws. On a state level, anything that North Carolina does by way of laws and policies regarding illegal immigration will either encourage or discourage illegal immigrants to reside in the State. The problem when our State is a magnet for illegal immigration above and beyond other states is that it directly impacts our school systems and healthcare facilities. Unlike state or federal programs that claim that they are shielded from the illegal immigrant population, the policy of our hospitals is to serve all and the Supreme Court has ruled that education within our public schools cannot be denied to the illegal immigrant. As a result, if North Carolina is a magnet for more illegal immigrants then it will place more of an unfunded burden on our schools and healthcare facilities, which increases cost and decreases service for the insurance premium-payer and the public school taxpayer.
Regarding House Bill 786, I am not convinced that the provision that will establish a process for an illegal immigrant to receive a driving permit will not encourage more illegal immigrants to reside in North Carolina and therefore increase the burden of the taxpaying and health insurance premium paying citizen. While the bill lays out a detailed process for an illegal immigrant to be able to receive a driving permit, the billboard affect to the illegal immigrant community most likely will not include the details. In addition, the driving permit provision could also put the employer in an interesting position. Currently, employers that hire illegal immigrants (“unknowingly” of course) can claim simple ignorance of falsified or forged documents, but if they are informed that their employee possesses a restricted driving permit as established within House Bill 786, then they will know without a shadow of a doubt that they employ an illegal immigrant and are in violation of Federal law. Among these reasons and many more, I cannot support legislation that could encourage more illegal immigration here in North Carolina.
” and to separate the State’s illegal immigrant population into two categories: the good actors who desire to abide by the laws of the State and the bad actors who do not. ”
None of them are law abiding.
“then they will know without a shadow of a doubt that they employ an illegal immigrant and are in violation of Federal law. ”
So, he’s saying that a problem with the bill is that it makes it easier to recognise who’s illegal? That would seem like a plus.