I heard even down here in our new home in Lebanon, NH, that the Vermont Legislature is actually going to consider allowing “undocumented” farm workers to have driver’s licenses. As I see it there are many problems with this scheme.
When the word undocumented is used, it is a euphemism for illegal alien. Now, if a person is in this country illegally, s(he) has broken a federal law by not following the rules and the state of Vermont employers have broken a federal law against hiring illegal aliens. Some time ago I asked the Vermont Attorney General’s office if they could tell me how many illegal immigrants were in the state. They said that they didn’t keep track of that and referred me to ICE, the federal enforcement program that is supposed to deal with this problem. No help there either.
Illegals cause our health care, education and law enforcement costs to rise. The more services they absorb the more the word gets out to other illegal immigrants, “Hey, come on up here, you’ll like it.” In other words Vermont would become a magnet state if it is not already.
Our Congress passes laws but they are not enforced, or only selectively enforced. The Mexican border issue is a typical illustration. Control there is so bad that states have tried to protect their citizens by passing laws to supplement and control illegal emigration and the drug trafficking that is part of it. The state of Arizona passed appropriate legislation and President Obama’s Department of Justice immediately took them to court, to prevent enforcement. This situation has been repeated in Texas, Alabama and others, indicating that Obama only wants to show a lukewarm interest and needs the Latin vote in the coming presidential election.
We have many laws controlling border crossings and President Obama says they have increased their control efforts over last year. It is probably true that more border jumpers have been apprehended. But when they are caught, they follow Department of Justice orders to only detain those that have committed a crime, thus administratively bypassing Congress. The rest are in effect free to stay in America. Why? One obvious reason is to increase the number of those that need federal assistance and will vote for those that provide it. Yes, many illegal immigrants get to vote with the help of “Project Vote” (part of the infamous Acorn group that was outlawed by Congress but continues under changed names). Refer to the report by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for details. Remember Obama used to work for Acorn as an organizer in Chicago before being elected to Congress.
No, Vermont should not consider licenses for illegal aliens; they are illegally in this country. What part of illegal is not understood? Vermont should stop breaking federal laws by aiding them in obtaining additional social services at the expense of legal residents.
The state of Vermont should produce a bumper sticker that says “Press One for Deportation.”
Olin E. Potter is a former Waitsfield resident and a 40-year veteran of Vermont politics. He now lives in New Hampshire.
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