Politics

DC Mayor Proposes Drivers Licenses for Illegal Immigrants

By federal law, can't be the same kind legal residents get

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license not needed
Reason 24/7

While Washington tussles over a 844-page immigration reform bill, the municipal government in DC is trying to offer driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

From CBS Washington:

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has introduced a bill that would allow people living in the country illegally to get driver's licenses in the nation's capital.

The bill would create a two-tiered system of licenses. Immigrants who can't prove they are in the country legally would get licenses or identification cards that would not be valid for federal purposes such as boarding airplanes or entering federal buildings.

The mayor notes it would be against federal law to issue the same license to illegal immigrants as to legal residents and citizens, but some immigration advocates oppose the "second class" ID, preferring apparently for illegal immigrants to wait indefinitely.

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