"Tuition, driver’s licenses urged for illegal immigrants" by Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff | November 17, 2009
Governor Deval Patrick today will unveil a state-commissioned report that urges him to push for driver’s licenses and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, as well as English classes for foreign-born Massachusetts residents who need them.
This as he SLASHES SCHOOL BUDGETS!
The issues were the top concerns raised by immigrants across the state during a series of public meetings the governor ordered from 2008 through early this year. Now they are among 131 recommendations in the “New Americans Agenda,’’ billed as the state’s most comprehensive blueprint for integrating immigrants into Massachusetts.
It is unclear whether Patrick will embrace the recommendations, which he has declined to release since he received them in July. He will refer the list to his Cabinet for an action plan within 90 days, said his spokesman Kyle Sullivan.
The majority of the 912,310 immigrants in Massachusetts are here legally; almost half are naturalized US citizens and other legal residents are waiting in line. But the authors of the report also urged Patrick to press federal officials to create a path to legal residency for immigrants here illegally, saying the harsh national debate casts a pall over all immigrants.
“We need to get past the rhetoric of hate that has dominated this debate and instead strive for policy choices that are in the best long-term interests of our nation,’’ Westy Egmont and Eva Millona, cochairmen of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants, which authored the report, wrote in a letter to Patrick.
I'm really becoming offended by the deception of these agenda-pushing a**holes.
ALLOWING AMNESTY to ENCOURAGE MORE ILLEGALS was NOT the ANSWER 24 years ago and it is not the answer now!! This is ALL ABOUT advancing the New World Order agenda of GLOBAL GOVERNMENT, folks! A North American Union!
“As governor of Massachusetts, you are in a position to help influence the debate in Washington in favor of true reform that benefits the Commonwealth and the country.’’
The recommendations were submitted to the governor a year after he commissioned a panel of state officials and advocates to find better ways to integrate immigrants into Massachusetts....
Patrick has had a mixed record on immigrants, who make up 14 percent of the state’s population. The governor is viewed as an ally, but he has disappointed many immigrants by not lobbying hard for in-state tuition for undocumented students at state colleges and universities.
He looks at the poll numbers on the issue.
Patrick has long said he would sign a bill if lawmakers passed it, but advocates said they do not yet have the votes. Legislative hearings are expected in 2010, an election year, which makes its chances even more uncertain....
It'll get the votes -- if politicians like cutting their own throats. That's the thing about illegals -- they DON'T VOTE!
Well, they are not supposed to, anyway.
Even expanding English classes faces barriers because the state has no new money to finance them.... Jessica Vaughan, policy director of the Center for Immigration Studies, urged the governor to focus his efforts on legal immigrants exclusively. “Legal immigrants and illegal immigrants are competing for jobs,’’ she said. “One of the best things for legal immigrants would be to drastically reduce illegal immigration.’’
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“In order for the report to have meaning and lasting impact, it needs to be understood in the context of the breadth of recommended actions,’’ Sullivan said.
That is gibberish, I believe.
The 131 recommendations attempt to address the needs facing the widely diverse immigrant population in Massachusetts, which is far more varied than in such states as California and Texas. About a quarter hold a master’s degree or higher, while 43 percent of all immigrants cannot speak English very well.
So why are you going to school, kiddo?
Overall recommendations include making it easier for professionally trained immigrants to transfer their credentials to work in Massachusetts, creating a multilingual guide to public schools for parents, and increasing access to credit for immigrant-run businesses so that they will invest in Massachusetts.
Yup, YOU can't get a loan, Amurkn -- but our government will make sure that illegal does!
The New Americans Agenda was headed by the Governor’s Advisory Council for Immigrants and Refugees and coordinated by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the state Office for Refugees and Immigrants, and a host of community groups.
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Even the police are for it!
Undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts are finding several unlikely allies in their quest to obtain driver's licenses: police chiefs.
Chiefs in Fitchburg, Somerville, Chelsea, Milford, and Framingham say that permitting undocumented immigrants to obtain licenses would sharply reduce the time, stress, and cost that dealing with unlicensed drivers requires. Officials in Utah and New Mexico, two of the five states where undocumented immigrants can legally drive, say it's working to increase public safety. But others strongly oppose it as sanctioning thousands of people who are violating federal immigration law.
"They're on our roads. We should be doing something," said Somerville Police Chief Anthony Holloway. "If they're going to drive a car, we need to know who they are."
The issue, a major battleground in the national fight over undocumented immigration, arose this month in Massachusetts when state Representative Thomas Sannicandro, a Democrat, failed in his bid to add an amendment to the transportation bill that would have allowed licenses.
Not illegal anymore, huh?
Outside of the political arena, police, immigrants, and state officials are quietly working on a solution because, they say, the problem bedevils them almost every day. Police say that unlicensed immigrant drivers, fearing deportation, routinely flee the scene of hit-and-run accidents, sometimes engage officers in high-speed pursuits, or more commonly, drive without ever having passed a test.
Translation: ILLEGALS make for a MORE DANGEROUS SOCIETY for that reason alone!
When police encounter unlicensed drivers, they have to verify their identity and decide whether to cite them and tow their vehicles or arrest them and bring them in. Each arrest takes officers off the road for more than an hour for booking, fingerprinting, and other paperwork - preventing them from fighting other crime. "It's a pain in the neck," said Milford Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin.
Of course, Boston finest have plenty of time to cruise the strip, bust brothels, hang out in bars, buy drugs, and worry about cellphones while ROBBERIES, RAPES, and MURDERS go UNSOLVED!!!
And that "good Samaritan" you thought you saw?
“Earlier this month, police wrapped up a 30-day sting involving plainclothes officers mimicking tourists and other pedestrians. Once they were panhandled, they essentially became victims guaranteed to show up for a trial”
At state-sponsored immigration forums from Springfield to Chelsea in recent months, undocumented immigrants said that they are willing to register their names, photographs, and addresses with the state so they can drive to work without the risk of arrest and fines. Nationally, the trend is against allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses....
Which means Massachushitts will probably do it.
And notice how ILLEGAL has become a BAD WORD?
The Massachusetts Legislature considered driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants six years ago, but politicians have had little appetite for it because of public opposition to the idea. Sannicandro said that after he filed his amendment, he received hundreds of mostly angry e-mails and more than 100 phone calls, mostly against it. He withdrew the measure. Opponents, including the Massachusetts Police Association, which represents police officers statewide, fear that the licenses could be misused by terrorists or other criminals, or to apply for government benefits.
But WHO CARES, right? Gotta SERVE those ILLEGALS even at the cost of YOUR MONEY and SAFETY, America!
"You're sanctioning their illegal behavior," said state Representative Jeffrey Perry, a Republican and former Wareham police officer, who led the fight against Sannicandro's amendment last week. "If I were making the public policy, I would give the local and State Police the authority to detain the illegal immigrants." But the police chiefs who support licenses say they distinguish between undocumented immigrants who work, and otherwise obey the law, and those who commit hard-core crimes.
Yes, that JOB he is taking away from an American? No problem.
Most of the same chiefs who support driver's licenses have also assisted federal immigration agents on criminal raids and investigations.... O'Loughlin said he was frustrated by the contradictions over undocumented immigrants in this country, which lets them pay taxes and buy homes, but not drive cars....
Yeah, they are really helping out and pitching in by driving our wages down.
Thanks a lot.
But immigrants such as Miguel, 52, a Fitchburg homeowner, says he has no choice but to drive. Public transportation is spotty, and he has to arrive on time for each of the three jobs he has daily, two jobs cleaning and one bagging groceries....
Oh, HE has THREE JOBS, huh?
And you can't even find one, Bay-Stater!
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Leave it to the Globe to hit the agenda-pushing gas:
"Dilemma for the Registry
A HANDFUL of local police chiefs were only being pragmatic when they called for granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. These law-enforcement officials want to cut down on the number of unlicensed immigrant drivers who are uninsured and routinely flee the scene of hit-and-run-accidents out of fear of being caught and deported. They also want to cut down on the time it takes officers to verify the identity of unlicensed drivers and decide whether to cite them, tow their cars, and arrest them.
But whatever the potential merits of licensing undocumented immigrants, such a piecemeal effort by individual states only illustrates the larger national problem: the need to tackle comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for the millions who live here illegally. Like it or not, these illegal immigrants are driving their children to school, and themselves to work.
Or to make their drug deals, but....
It's not clear how many would even want to step forward to obtain official licenses, but there would be benefits to making sure they can drive safely. A handful of states - Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington - allow undocumented immigrants to obtain some form of driver's licenses. In New Mexico, a driver's license can be obtained no matter what a person's immigration status. Utah gives out "driving privilege cards." They look different from regular licenses and must be renewed every year.
Yeah, and they have a BIG PINK P on them -- you know, sort of like a Star of David on the arm.
Six years ago, the Massachusetts Legislature considered giving driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, but abandoned what turned out to be a very controversial proposal. A panel convened by Governor Patrick is still studying the matter. But much of the public remains hostile. Opponents include the Massachusetts Police Association, which fears the licenses could be misused by terrorists or other criminals, or used to apply for government benefits. State Representative Thomas Sannicandro, an Ashland Democrat, failed in a recent bid to add an amendment to the transportation bill that would have allowed the licenses. Because of the intensity of the opposition, Sannicandro also said that he is withdrawing a bill to issue undocumented immigrants driver's licenses for $300 each. He estimated the plan could have raised $30 million in revenue.
Local police chiefs who back driver's licenses for illegal immigrants are trying hard to deal with reality. But ultimately this reality is too complicated for any single state to address on its own. That's why it is good news that President Obama has said he will take up the issue of comprehensive immigration reform as early as May, with legislation prepared for the fall.Nope. Didn't do it. That's why they are going to try again soon.
The current system is broken and Americans of all political stripes want it fixed - it's one thing everyone can agree on.
And the other is whatever solution is offered by the government and agenda-pushing MSM, reject it.
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