Some Illegals Fear Obtaining Driver's Licenses Since Government Might Establish Their Identities and Deport Them

You think?

Hey, uh, I might be a little worried too if I was in the country illegally.

At NYT, "California Driver’s License Program Hits an Unexpected Hurdle":

BELL, Calif. — The auditorium was packed. There were single mothers, day laborers, grandparents pushing infants in strollers and teenagers interpreting for parents. All of them faced a potentially life-changing prospect: Within a year, California will start offering driver’s licenses to immigrants who are living in the country illegally.

But one person after another stepped to the microphone and expressed fear that the licenses, far from helping them, could instead be used to deport them.

Last year, when California became the most populous state to pass a law permitting undocumented residents to obtain driver’s licenses, advocates for immigrant rights were thrilled, saying it would allow people to commute without fear while also decreasing rates of hit-and-run accidents and uninsured drivers on the roads. Now those advocates are confronting another formidable obstacle: the deep and longstanding mistrust of the American government among this population.

It turns out that persuading immigrants who have spent decades avoiding the authorities to willingly hand over their names, addresses and photographs to the government is no easy sell — particularly since the licenses will look different from regular ones, in ways that have yet to be determined.

“I believe this license process is not secure,” one woman, who declined to identify herself, told state officials at an informational hearing here hosted by the Department of Motor Vehicles. “Is this a trap?”

“It’s not a trap,” said Ricardo Lara, the state senator who represents this working-class city, where more than 40 percent of the population is foreign born. State law guaranteed that their information would not be shared with other government agencies, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he said, adding, “Your information is protected.”

California, home to an estimated 2.5 million immigrants living in the country illegally, has been busy fashioning itself as the most welcoming state for immigrants, passing measures designed to reduce deportations, offering in-state tuition to all residents, and more. But skepticism among this population has grown since President Obama took office, as deportations have hit record highs and efforts to reform immigration laws have stalled in Congress.

Combating this mistrust, Mr. Lara said in an interview, is “the most significant challenge” of getting unauthorized residents — many of whom are already behind the wheel without licenses — to take road tests and buy auto insurance.

“People are skeptical, and rightfully so,” Mr. Lara said. “These are people who have been living in the shadows, living in constant fear. We have to work hard to ensure we really protect these folks.”

F-king Democrat morons. We don't have to assure illegals jack. They're right to fear deportation, for they have no right to be in the country. The Democrats are frankly un-American in their shilling for every open-borders initiative under the sun. Screw them. This state's gone to the dogs and it's going to keep getting worse. One of these days I'll get the hell out of here. Hopefully I won't have to learn Spanish before then.