When it was passed back in 2003, New Mexico’s law allowing illegal immigrants to receive state drivers’ licenses was billed as a way to make the roads safer by requiring illegals to pass a driving test and carry insurance.
For all the hoopla, a recent study showed that New Mexico is second in the nation for percentage of uninsured drivers on the road at 25.7 percent. As for making New Mexico safer, a different reality has emerged:
The unintended consequence has been an eruption in criminal rings assisting illegal immigrants in obtaining New Mexico driver’s licenses. In the past year, the state has indicted members of at least seven operations on fraud charges.
The consequence may have been unintended, but it was foreseeable. Extending a legal privilege to a person whose very existence breaks the law of the country encourages more law-breaking.
It’s a good thing for New Mexico that newly elected Governor Susana Martinez is a former prosecutor. Too bad for America that President Barack Obama isn’t.
CFIF on Twitter
CFIF on YouTube