Republican Senators to stop issuing Driver’s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

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Legislation has introduced by Republican senators blocking specific federal funds to states issuing driving licenses to illegal immigrants. On Thursday, Senator Marsha Blackburn said their coalition of GOP senators introduced the Stop Green-lighting Driver Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act. The Epoch Times reported that the new bill targets sanctuary states that allow illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses in spite of the absence of proof that they live legally in the US. Point to be noted that Blackburn, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Joni Ernst, Steve Daines, Jim Inhofe, and Mike Braun were part of the group to introduce the bill. This bill serves as the latest indicator of the differences between Republicans and President Joe Biden’s views on illegal immigration.

Blackburn issued a statement and said, “No town in America is secure from criminals and terrorists if our borders aren’t policed and federal immigration laws aren’t fully enforced. We should not reward illegal aliens with driver licenses when they fail to follow the proper legal process”. Colorado Rep. Ken Buck also introduced companion legislation in the House in February 2020. However, the move died in the Democrat-controlled Congress where it did not receive a vote. Buck said in a statement on 28^th January that he was planning to reintroduce the bill on Monday. The Colorado representative also recalled the senseless death of Sean Buchanan which he believed was caused by the green-light sanctuary laws. He said, “Sean was a loving father of five from Colorado Springs who was struck and killed by an illegal immigrant who was driving under a suspended state-issued driver’s license”.

It is noteworthy that there will be a halt in funding from the Department of Justice grant funding under the proposed act, and under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program to states that defy the immigration law. The program usually gives over $250 million to state and local criminal justice efforts in a year. Blackburn said that states gave illegal immigrant driver’s licenses and received more than $53 million under the program in the fiscal year 2020. So, states that don’t comply with the provisions will also be rendered ineligible to receive future funding from the program. The District of Columbia allows illegal immigrants to have driver’s licenses. Some of the states on this list are California, Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, and Washington.