Immigration Policy: Yet Another Wrong Turn

So Governor Spitzer of New York has finally dropped his plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. I am personally agnostic on this question. Initially I was opposed, although I believe that a limited "driving only" licensing system would be appropriate. The key, of course, is insurance coverage, and simply a reflection of the fact that there are millions of undocumented workers in the United States. Berkeley has provided a brief overview of California's experience.

I find this debate both tiresome and weirdly abstract. Obviously, there could easily be a class of licenses that would not only permit insurance coverage but would also prohibit the use of such licenses for identification purposes outside of the driving context. Of course, those licenses would be a red flag to immigration officials, which undercuts Mitt Romney's argument that this "was exactly the wrong approach to enforcement." If anything the use of those licenses would make enforcement easier. But as "I was for abortion and gay rights and universal health care before I was against it" Romney illustrates, our politics are not exactly a field of clarity or nuance. I actually appreciated Senator Clinton's level-headed response during the debate, and the attacks on her by both competing Democrats and the Republican candidates felt forced and shortsighted.

If you ever get hit by an undocumented worker without insurance, just remember: anti-immigration fanatics made your losses possible.