Arizona Makes It Easy for Aliens to Receive Driver’s Licenses

Today’s commentary was prompted by an article that appeared yesterday, Saturday, September 24th, in The Arizona Republic that delved into a serious vulnerability to national security and public safety from a couple of significant perspectives- the fact that the state of Arizona has made it easy for individuals including aliens, to receive driver’s licenses by gaming the system.

First of all, driving is a privilege and it is imperative that there be a means of determining that those who are licensed to drive a motor vehicle meet minimum standards. This is a matter of commonsense and public safety. All too often we find ourselves sharing the road with drivers who display such a lack of skill and commonsense that we want to ask them, “Where did you get your driver’s license, in a box of cereal?”

Perhaps the answer to that question might well be, “Arizona!”

When drivers are unable to read English they are likely to have a serious problem because they cannot understand the signs that not only provide directions but may warn of hazardous conditions they are likely to encounter including construction sites, adverse weather conditions and accidents ahead.

This is why I am incensed that many states such as New York State allow those applying for a driver’s license to take the written test in a number of languages besides English.

According to the article I have attached below, In Arizona, the applicant for a driver’s license may also be accompanied by a translator to the exam! With a translator sitting next to the prospective motorist, who is making certain that the translator is simply translating the questions and the applicants responses rather than simply answering the question for the applicant?

Do we really need to have more incompetent drivers on our nation’s roads?

Next we come to the national security implications that the Arizona driver’s licensing process engenders.

The terrorists who attacked our nation made use of multiple driver’s licenses to conceal their true identities that aided in their ability to hide in plain sight but also enabled them to conceal their movements as they prepared to launch the worst terrorist attack ever carried out on American soil.

Today, more than ever, the driver’s license is a crucial document. It is the de facto national identity document. We use driver’s licenses for a number of important purposes that have absolutely nothing to do with driving but everything to do with providing what is perceived as incontrovertible evidence as to our identities. We use driver’s licenses to gain access to airliners, government office buildings and corporate office buildings. We use driver’s licenses to verify our identities when we seek a job and fill out the Form I-9 and we use a driver’s license when we consummate a business transaction or make a purchase with a personal check or credit card.

People who can provide a driver’s license to substantiate their identities take on the appearance of legitimacy and almost invariably, can pass themselves off as being the name on their driver’s license.

Driver’s licenses are also referred to as “Breeder documents” because they can be used to enable the bearer of the license to apply for other identity documents.

Most of the terror watch lists and “No Fly” lists are purely name based. If a terrorist is able to obtain a driver’s license in an assumed identity, that terrorist will be able to easily circumvent the safeguards that have been implemented since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The DHS website has posted an article about the significance of driver’s licenses that you should check out. Here is a link to that article:

http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1200062053842.shtm

Here is an excerpt from the DHS website that addressed the critical nature of driver’s licenses:

Why We Need More Secure Driver’s Licenses

Raising the standards of state-issued identification is an important step toward enhancing national security. Because a driver’s license serves so many purposes (access to federal buildings, nuclear power plants, boarding aircraft, etc.), criminals and terrorists actively seek fraudulent state-issued identification. States that implement measures to increase their documents’ security make it more difficult for criminals to obtain these documents, while making it easier for law enforcement to detect falsified documents. While many states have invested in improvements to their driver’s licenses and licensing processes, the lack of minimum performance standards have made it possible for criminals and terrorists to exploit jurisdictions where standards are lower and fraud is easier to commit. That is why the 9/11 Commission recommended that the federal government issue minimum performance standards that all states could measure themselves against.

What is extremely frustrating is that those who seek open borders and oppose the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws are still being described as being “Immigrant rights activists.”

This provides these folks with a level of credibility that is unjustified!

Anyone who believes that it is acceptable to ignore the lessons the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 taught our nation as articulated in the 9/11 Commission Report is not being an advocate for immigrants but is an advocate for creating a national security nightmare for our nation and all who live in our country including United States citizens, lawful immigrants, lawful nonimmigrants and even illegal aliens!

Anyone who is willing to provide illegal aliens with driver’s licenses so that they can work is willing to facilitate the ability of illegal aliens to take jobs desperately needed by United States citizens and lawful immigrants who have lost their jobs and their ability to support themselves and their families and are not advocates for immigrants but are advocates for illegal aliens!

I would remind you that the difference between and immigrant and an illegal alien is comparable to the difference between a houseguest and burglar!

Furthermore it is insane to enable those who are unable to safely drive a car to be given driver’s licenses! You would think this would be a matter of commonsense!

Aliens who run our nation’s borders pose a threat to national security and public safety. The inspections process that they evade is conducted to prevent the entry of aliens into our country whose presence in our country would be problematic for our nation and our citizens and lawful immigrants and might even pose a threat to their very lives!

First of all, an alien who runs our nation’s border leaves no record of his (her) entry into the United States, this in and of itself poses a serious problem for law enforcement authorities and creates a significant vulnerability for our nation.

Second it is important to consider the section of law contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that addresses the categories of aliens who are to be excluded from the United States.

Title 8, United States Code section 212 is that section of law that enumerates the various categories of aliens who, under the INA, are supposed to be prevented from entering the United States and are supposed to be removed if they are found here:

Here is a link to that section of law:

http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-1956.html

Please take the time to review the contents of this section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Among the categories of aliens who are supposed to be kept out of the United States are aliens with dangerous communicable diseases, aliens who suffer serious mental illness and are prone to violence, aliens who are convicted felons, aliens who fugitives from justice in other countries, aliens who are human traffickers and drug smugglers, aliens who are war criminals and aliens who have committed human rights violations. Also aliens who are engaged in terrorism and espionage are among those who are, by law, supposed to be prevented from entering our country and are supposed to be removed if they manage to evade the Border Patrol and enter the United States.

An individual who is able to obtain a driver’s license under an assumed identity is able to easily embed himself in a community and those who would seek to do so are likely to be criminals, terrorists or others who seek to use the camouflage of a false identity the way that a chameleon uses changes in coloration in order to hide in plain sight, likely among his intended victims.

A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!

If our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!

We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.

My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.

The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.

If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”

The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.

The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!

The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians. I implore you to get involved!

I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!

If our government’s failures to secure our nation’s borders and effectively enforce our immigration laws concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!

All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!

We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

I hope you will be listening! (Please tell your friends and neighbors!)

Here is a link to the program:

http://www.usaradionetwork.com/cutler.htm

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Arizona’s lax driver-test rules lure foreigners Ariz. lets interpreters help with written test

Michael Cutler
Michael Cutler, a former Senior INS Investigator, an expert witness in more than a dozen Congressional Hearings is a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and an advisor to the '911 Families for a Secure America.' He writes about the nexus between immigration and national security.