Illegal Immigrants

No special license for illegal aliens How can The Baltimore Sun seriously suggest there should be a "second-tier" driver's license for people who cannot prove they are in this country legally ("License to survive," March 31)? Illegal immigrants are too often the scapegoats for our social and financial ills. However, I can't help but raise an eyebrow at the notion that illegal immigrants have some sort of right to government services or to operate a vehicle. It is an affront to the people who enter this country legally and follow the rule of the law that people who come in illegally receive the number of free government services they already enjoy, and adding the right to drive to that list would only exacerbate the problem.

Applicants for new Maryland driver's licenses would have to prove they are in the U.S. legally under a pair of competing and contentious plans up for votes Monday in the General Assembly. Both measures would take Maryland off a short list of states that allow illegal immigrants to become licensed drivers and would bring the state into at least partial compliance with "Real ID," a federal security act passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Lawmakers and other officials hope that revising the state's licensing policy would reduce the pervasive problem of fraud and end the state's status as a magnet for undocumented immigrants looking for government-validated credentials.

WASHINGTON -- A comprehensive immigration bill that would boost control of U.S. borders and provide a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S. was brought back to life yesterday as the Senate voted 64-35 to resume debate on the controversial measure. The move, which had been strongly pushed by President Bush, gave hope to the beleaguered immigration bill's advocates that it was showing new signs of life and could pass the Senate by week's end. "We're back in the ball game," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican.

Drug `gold mine' a plague on city I was horrified, appalled and scared to death reading The Sun's article "Defendant says drug `gold mine' lured him to city" (April 4). "Pennsylvania Avenue is a freaking gold mine," says a 35-year-old drug merchant. Now Baltimore is really on the map. But the question that jumped out at me was: What in the world is Baltimore doing about this drug problem? This issue lies at the root of the problems that plague the city. Crime, poverty, homelessness, education, etc., are all manifestations of the drug problem in Baltimore.

A Gaithersburg truck driver who authorities say was in the country illegally was arraigned this week outside of Pittsburgh on charges of vehicular manslaughter, an incident that advocates of tighter restrictions on Maryland's driver licenses said reinforces a troubling trend. Since November, at least three people have been killed by illegal immigrants who were issued driver's licenses in Maryland, authorities say. For the fifth year in a row, lawmakers are set to debate whether the state should continue to issue driver's licenses to those who are in the country illegally.

All Renell Francine Ray needed to stay on Medicaid was an original birth certificate and a valid state ID card that would prove she was a U.S. citizen and Maryland resident. Producing those documents might have seemed simple enough to Congress when it decided to require them as a way to block illegal immigrants from using the nation's health insurer of last resort. But in the world of bureaucrats and paperwork, Ray became entangled in a maddening Catch-22: To obtain her original birth certificate from Virginia, she needed a valid state ID; to obtain a valid state ID, she was told, she would need her original birth certificate.

We want your opinions ISSUE: Anne Arundel County officials said they will sever ties with government contractors that employ illegal immigrants. County Executive John R. Leopold issued an executive order last week that will require businesses to sign an affidavit swearing they do not employ people living in the country illegally. Evidence that a company has hired illegal immigrants would allow the county to drop the contractor. Leopold said the federal government "hypocritically" tolerates such practices, but Anne Arundel will not. Critics of the measure include Gustavo Torres, executive director of Casa de Maryland, who said it had the potential to further discrimination of Hispanics and could hurt businesses that use immigrant labor.

The Maryland Senate appears headed toward a bitter debate over a contentious measure that would allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at Maryland colleges. Senate Republicans, saying the measure would reward lawbreakers, have threatened to filibuster if the bill comes to the floor. "This is terrible policy," said Sen. Andrew P. Harris, a Baltimore County Republican. He said while Democrats may have the votes to break a filibuster, he is doubtful they would try to do so. "I don't think anyone would want to expend political capital on this issue," Harris said.

Washington -- Supporters of a bipartisan immigration bill rebuffed yesterday one of the most serious challenges, defeating a measure that could have denied legalization to many illegal immigrants and moving the complicated legislation a step closer to passage in the Senate. Senate Democratic leaders, fearing an erosion of support for the bill if debate drags on, are pushing for a final vote by the end of the week or early next week. The bill would then move to the House, where it is expected to face stiffer opposition.

WASHINGTON -- One-third of Americans surveyed want to deprive illegal immigrants of social services, including public schooling and emergency room health care, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll finds. Even among Democrats, traditionally a party more welcoming of immigrants, 22 percent of voters surveyed would deny illegal immigrants access to services even as basic as emergency health care and public education. Still, in a sign of the ambivalence among voters about the emotionally charged issue, a strong bipartisan majority - 60 percent - favors allowing illegal immigrants who have not committed crimes to become citizens if they pay fines, learn English and meet other requirements.

The Motor Vehicle Administration has taken steps to revoke more than 150 driver's licenses - issued before a new law barring illegal immigrants from obtaining licenses took effect - in connection with a federal investigation into fraud. Civil liberties and immigrant rights groups have raised concerns about the process for canceling the licenses as well as the potential use of racial profiling in the decisions. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland wrote state lawmakers Thursday addressing those concerns and others, including whether the intent of the new law might have been violated.

Marie-Therese received her Maryland driver's license this spring, something her 15-year-old daughter might never do. The family illegally emigrated from West Africa to Baltimore four years ago, and a law that goes into effect Monday means new drivers who cannot prove their lawful status in the United States won't be able to get a license. "She is upset," Marie-Therese said of her daughter, who is a Baltimore high school student. "She told me, 'I want to drive, too.' " The mother, who didn't want the family's last name to be used for fear of being deported, took her daughter to Annapolis this year to try to persuade lawmakers to keep Maryland's status as one of just four states that grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Gov. Martin O'Malley signed several of the state's most contentious new laws Thursday, including legislation that will eventually deny driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and limit the application of the death penalty. A measure affecting all drivers also became law - beginning in October, it will be illegal to write or send text messages while on the road. In addition, the governor signed a raft of labor and environmental legislation, such as a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases 25 percent by 2020, and a bill to make Maryland the first state to extend hate-crimes protection to homeless people.

Senate approves capital budget The Maryland Senate gave final approval Wednesday to the state's $1.1 billion capital budget, authorizing borrowing to replace the state's aging medevac helicopter fleet, fund land preservation programs and launch more than $200 million in school construction. Senators voted 40-7 in favor of the plan, which is $265 million larger than last year's capital budget and required a $150 million increase in the state's borrowing limit. Sen. Allan H. Kittleman of Howard County, one of seven Republicans who opposed the budget, said the state "needs to have fiscal sanity."

No special license for illegal aliens How can The Baltimore Sun seriously suggest there should be a "second-tier" driver's license for people who cannot prove they are in this country legally ("License to survive," March 31)? Illegal immigrants are too often the scapegoats for our social and financial ills. However, I can't help but raise an eyebrow at the notion that illegal immigrants have some sort of right to government services or to operate a vehicle. It is an affront to the people who enter this country legally and follow the rule of the law that people who come in illegally receive the number of free government services they already enjoy, and adding the right to drive to that list would only exacerbate the problem.

One way or another, Maryland is going to have to meet federal standards for driver's licenses under the Real ID program. The only question is whether the state legislature does so while extending some understanding to the state's immigrant community. From the start, Real ID has been a flawed tool in the federal effort to improve national security. By creating a de facto national ID card but shifting the burden of such a program to the states, Congress foolishly enlisted Motor Vehicle Administration clerks to the front lines of national defense.

Applicants for new Maryland driver's licenses would have to prove they are in the U.S. legally under a pair of competing and contentious plans up for votes Monday in the General Assembly. Both measures would take Maryland off a short list of states that allow illegal immigrants to become licensed drivers and would bring the state into at least partial compliance with "Real ID," a federal security act passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Lawmakers and other officials hope that revising the state's licensing policy would reduce the pervasive problem of fraud and end the state's status as a magnet for undocumented immigrants looking for government-validated credentials.

Since the 9/11 attacks, federal immigration agents have helped train local police and sheriff's deputies in enforcing the country's immigration laws. The program - now in use by 67 law enforcement agencies in 23 states - is supposed to help reduce serious crime. Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins would tell you, as he did a congressional committee recently, that the program has helped his suburban county. But neither Sheriff Jenkins nor any one else has been able to show that this federal-local partnership has in fact reduced crime.

Glad ICE targets illegal immigrants The Baltimore Sun's editorial "The 'usual suspects'" (Feb. 24) could not be further off the mark. Illegal immigration has been out of control for years. Billions of dollars of taxpayer money are spent every year for education, health care, law enforcement and corrections costs related to illegal immigrants. At the same time, those illegal immigrants are, for the most part, not paying any income taxes. In the current economic downturn, millions of legal Americans are out of work.

There's but one plausible explanation for the arrest of 24 Hispanic men by federal immigration agents outside a Fells Point convenience store in 2007 - racial profiling. A recently released videotape and government documents detailing the incident provide a vivid look at how easily law enforcement can run amok when officers are only interested in making their numbers look good. The officers were agents of the U.S. Homeland Security Department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, and they were supposed to be looking for illegal immigrants who had been ordered to leave the country.