Real ID Act: The Time to Object is Now
The Real ID Act is not law yet. Read some more objections, and then contact your representatives in Congress and tell them to vote now. The bill deserves full debate and should be a stand alone measure, not tacked on to the spending bill. The drivers' license provisions are overburdensome and the immigration provisions strip habeas corpus rights.
Congress is moving toward requiring states to verify whether applicants are in the U.S. legally before issuing driver's licenses.....The real story here isn't security, or even drivers licenses. It's the Federal government imposing yet another "unfunded mandate" on the states. This is where Congress sets a policy, and then demands that a lower level (state, county, city) government implement and pay for it. It amounts to a hidden Federal tax increase.
[hat tip: AOL Blog Zone]
On a related note, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is launching a big campaign to support immigration reforms, in challenge to President Bush.
Comprehensive immigration reform – including a broad legalization program – is the goal of a national campaign among Catholics in the United States to be launched Tuesday, May 10, in Washington, DC.
Church leaders will announce a new effort to educate and galvanize Catholics of the need for “justice for immigrants,” and to challenge President Bush and Congress to adopt reform measures built on principles issued by U.S. and Mexican bishops in 2003.
The four principles include:
- legalization for the undocumented;
- expanded opportunities for legal entry for work and family reunification;
- establishment of an appropriate and effective temporary workers program;
- and re-establishment of due process rights and other legal safeguards.
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