Jon Christian Ryter -- Tennessee Offers Illegals Driving Permits to Beat New Federal Regulation

TENNESSEE OFFERS ILLEGALS DRIVING PERMITS TO BEAT NEW FEDERAL REGULATION

By Jon Christian Ryter

July 11, 2004

NewsWithViews.com

Governor Phil Bredesen [D-TN] has become the first American governor to offer illegal aliens the means to drive legally in his State. Bredesen's administration created the concept of providing illegals with a legal means to drive, believing his "certificate of driving" will somehow help law enforcement officials trap any terrorists in his State. Prior to the Motor Voter Act which automatically registers citizens to vote when they get their driver's license, legal resident aliens working in the United States had no problem applying for, or renewing, drivers' licenses in whatever State they resided.

Prior to the Election of 2000 no one apparently worried much that resident aliens might decide to vote in local, State or national elections in the United States. In point of fact, hundreds of thousands of Hispanic non-citizens both legal and illegal�voted in the elections of 1996, 1998 and 2000, No one gave it a second thought�except, perhaps, to dismiss the notion as ludicrous since most Americans believe the county canvassing boards across the country know precisely who can, and cannot, legally cast a vote in the local, county, State or national elections. As shocking as it may seem, over 2.5 million non-citizen resident aliens and illegal aliens across the United States appear to havecast their votes for Al Gore in the Election of 2000, giving him his 500 thousand "popular" majority. (Liberals have argued since the Clintons assumed the White House in 1993 that all residents in the United States�legal or illegal, citizen or noncitizen�should have the right to vote since they are affected equally by the decisions made by our elected officials.) But even more shocking is the realization that the recent changes in federal regulations that will prevent temporary alien residents (those attending school) and undocumented illegal aliens) from casting votes and influencing the outcome of American elections was not motivated by an imperative to eliminate illegal voting but, rather, by a need of law enforcement agencies to know who people are, and whether or not they are up to "no good."

Shortly after assuming office in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger repealed a law that allowed illegal immigrants to apply for, and receive, drivers' licenses. That same law, had it not been repealed, would have allowed illegal aliens holding valid drivers' licenses in California to vote in the presidential election on November 2 even though those "registered voters" (under the Motor Voter Act) were not citizens of the United States.

When the FBI investigations into 9-11 revealed how easily Mohammed Atta and his suicide partners secured various forms of ID�including drivers' licenses�in America, measures were implemented by the Department of Homeland Security to make it much more difficult for aliens�legal or otherwise�to to get a driver's license in the United States. Further, because Hispanic immigrants�many of whom are illegal�were using Matricular Consular cards that were accepted as legitimate ID in the United States, Homeland Security realized there was an imperative need to eliminate all forms of identification where the identities of the bearer are not confirmed by some branch of government�whether State or federal.

As the U.S. government moved to make it harder for aliens within our borders to secure forms of ID that would not only allow them to drive cars, but to rent rent apartments or fly on airplanes, the Mexican government increased the availability of Matricular Consular cards to make it easier for Mexican citizens�both legal and illegal�to function in the American an society. House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] did everything in her power to force federal government buildings to accept Consular cards as valid ID for access to all secured public offices and facilities. This, of course, would have defeated the objective of Homeland Security to be able to identify those who are entering "at risk" sites, and keep those who might be terrorists from gaining access to government facilities which would logically be viewed as prime targets for terrorist activity. Pelosi, however, was only concerned about her Hispanic "constituents" in California�many of whom are not citizens of the United States. As you visit your local DMV to renew your existing driver's license, you are very likely discovering, much to your own inconvenience, that your identity is no longer assumed. Although you have a picture ID driver's license that is obviously you, you have to prove not only that you are you, but also that you live where you claim to live.

When the new federal regulations went into effective in June, 27-year old Dina Guirguis, an Egyptian national (and liberal activist) who is in the United States on a temporary student visa, discovered she was not going to be able to renew her Tennessee driver's license. Guirguis, who is a Vanderbilt University Law School graduate, is a perfect example of aliens, usually from well-to-do families from other nations who receive student visas to attend an American college or university but who, many times, remain in the United States after they graduate or quit school. In Guirguis' case, she appears to be a semi-permanent "student" whose scholastic trail runs from Maryland to Tennessee.

Resident aliens like Guirguis are suddenly discovering that the right to drive a motor vehicle in the United States is not an inherent right. (A lot of American drivers need to realize that as well.) As the Department of Homeland Security began mandating that States tighten up their requirements for issuing drivers' licenses, and demand absolute proof of identity before issuing or renewing�them, Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen pushed a bill through his State's legislature that will allow aliens who in his State on temporary visas or, for that matter, illegal immigrants, to secure a Certificate For Driving. To date 25 States have measures similar to the new Tennessee law pending in their own legislatures. The new Tennessee law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a purple plastic "driving certificate" that looks different than the traditional Tennessee driver's license to be used by those not eligible for permanent State ID. This card, which is marked "For driving purposes only. Not valid for identification," will allow those with student visas�and those with no legal right to be in this country�to secure a form of ID that, while not an official form of identification, will be readily accepted by most American business people as proof positive that the bearer is who the bearer claims to be.

The only question that remains unanswered at this time is: will the new "unofficial" Driver Certificate activate the Motor Voter registration? My instincts say that it will. After all, the Democrats were just a little over 500 votes short of winning the election in 2000, and those illegal alien votes are as good as gold in any swing State.

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Jon Christian Ryter is the pseudonym of a former newspaper reporter with the Parkersburg, WV Sentinel. He authored a syndicated newspaper column, Answers From The Bible, from the mid-1970s until 1985. Answers From The Bible was read weekly in many suburban markets in the United States.

Today, Jon is an advertising executive with the Washington Times. His website, www.jonchristianryter.com has helped him establish a network of mid-to senior-level Washington insiders who now provide him with a steady stream of material for use both in his books and in the investigative reports that are found on his website. E-Mail: BAFFauthor@aol.com

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