Several Republican senators in the U.S. Congress have introduced bills that would prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses. The bill would also prohibit certain federal funds from going to sanctuary states that provide driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Texas) said Thursday (Jan. 28) that she joined several other Republican senators in introducing the Stop Greenlighting Driver Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act. Immigrants Act). The senators are Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Joni Ernst, Steve Daines, Jim Inhofe and Mike Braun.
The bill strikes at sanctuary states that allow immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses without proving they legally reside in the United States.
“If our borders are not protected and federal immigration laws are not fully enforced, no town in America is safe from criminals and terrorists.” Blackburn said in a statement. “This country is governed by the rule of law. We should not be issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants without following the proper legal procedures.”
Last February, Sen. Blackburn and Rep. Ken Buck (D-Mich.) had introduced similar bills in each chamber, but the bill never received a vote in the Democratic-controlled House. In a Jan. 28 statement, Buck said he plans to reintroduce the bill in the House on Monday (Feb. 1).
“My Home state of Colorado has its own green light sanctuary law, which led to the death of Sean Buchanan (R-Colo.).” Barker said in a statement.
Barker added that Sean was a loving father of five from Springs, Colorado, who was killed by an illegal immigrant driving a car with a state-issued driver’s license. “Shawn’s death was completely preventable, and we cannot encourage criminal behavior by allowing states to provide sanctuary to illegal immigrants.” Barker said.
The bill prohibits the Justice Department from providing grant funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program to states that disregard federal immigration laws.
Blackburn said states that issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants received more than $53 million from the JAG program in fiscal year 2020.
“This law would require states that issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants or that fail to share immigration enforcement information with the Department of Homeland Security to return unallocated funds to the JAG program within 30 days.” She said.
This would also make states that do not comply with the driver’s license and federal information sharing requirements ineligible for future JAG funding.
According to the National Federation of State Legislatures, 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. These states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.
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