This legislation would increase the pressure on states to stop issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Driving is a privilege, not a right. That privilege should not be extended to those that have shown a disregard for federal immigration laws. As the former Secretary of State of Michigan who streamlined both the voting rolls and driving files, we cannot allow illegal aliens to continue to obtain driver’s licenses or vote in our state.
The integrity of our voting process is inextricably linked to a clean driving file. Michigan has been a state that rewards illegal aliens by giving them driver’s licenses and state ID cards, a situation that I worked diligently to change. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful at persuading the Legislature to change the law, which is why I made it a priority when I came to Congress. I was deeply involved in crafting the Real ID legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that mandates states to stop giving these identity documents to illegal aliens.
Nearly three years after passage into law, too many states have not implemented this vital aspect of the legislation, including Michigan. I have become increasingly concerned with comments by our state officials that echoed earlier statements by the governor of New York that Real ID was merely an unfunded federal mandate. Real ID is not an unfunded mandate. It is an important tool to ensure that only our citizens and those in our country legally have access to government issued identity documents and the rights and freedoms that they allow. A driver’s license is one of the principle ways to prove your identity and citizenship, which is why giving driver’s licenses to illegal aliens is a very bad policy.