Driver's License

What is behind the debate over driver's licenses for undocumented workers?

With millions of undocumented workers in the country, it stands to reason that we need a way to know who they are and where they live. A driver's license is the defacto ID card for most Americans. We do not carry our passports with us. We do not carry our birth certificates. We do carry driver's licenses.

What is the logic behind taking away the one form of ID that most undocumented workers would willing carry? Who benefits from this?

One obvious answer is the employers who exploit the cheap labor undocumented workers provide. By keeping these people anonymous, they further hide their abuse of them. By putting them at risk of arrest, they make them more dependent on the employer who controls their livelihood.

Democrats moving right on immigration?

In an October 31, 2007 post to New America Media (http://news.newamericamedia.org), Roberto Lovato argued that

The real threat looming on the electoral horizon is that more and more Democrats are joining Republicans in capitulating to the public antipathy against immigrants.

I have noticed evidence of this in the recent presidential debates. When faced with the question of allowing driver's license for undocumented workers, all of the candidates gave a quick "no" except for O'bama, and he was clearly uncomfortable with offering any real hope on this issue.

I'll have more to say about the issue of driver's licenses later, but I merely note the mounting swing to the right among democrats for now.