What Part of "Illegal" is Unclear?
An activist politician in Connecticut who is running for governor has proposed issuing state identification cards to illegal aliens:
It seems nearly everyone was caught off guard the day John DeStefano Jr., the Democratic mayor of [New Haven] and a candidate for governor, said he wanted to allow thousands of illegal immigrants here to apply for new municipal identification cards.
…
Echoing Mr. DeStefano and the New Haven police chief, Francisco Ortiz Jr., [advocates] say the cards would help integrate immigrants into community life, allow them to get library cards, sign leases and open bank accounts and deposit money, leaving them less vulnerable to robbery.They say the cards would give immigrants a comfort level with the police in discussing crime, rather than fearing deportation.
I don’t want to see illegal aliens being mugged, burglarized or raped either, but the best way to avoid being an “illegal alien crime victim” is by not being an illegal alien in the first place. Choices have consequences, and being an illegal alien is of course a choice, one for which the consequences are well understood by those making it.
And while I certainly agree that immigration enforcement is a federal function that should be performed (and paid for) at the federal level, that does not mean that state and local governments should not only be allowed to look the other way but also actively encourage illegal aliens to feel as if their status is “no big deal.”
What’s next? Government IDs for escaped convicts and bail jumpers? No-questions-asked school enrollments for victims of kidnapping? Anonymous unreported treat-and-release medical care for gunshot wounds?
Illegal means illegal. And it is entirely inappropriate to catalyze illegality.
Fortunately the proposal seems to have evaporated. Hopefully so will Mayor DeStefano’s gubernatorial campaign.
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- Virginia County to Impose Mandatory ID Law
- Senate Votes to Give Illegal Workers Social Security Benefits
- A Quick “Elevator Man” Observation
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