Minot Daily News | Jul 25, 2007
This just in: The city of New Haven, Conn., is offering identification cards to illegal immigrants, which officials there say will help the illegal aliens open bank accounts and use other services that may be unavailable without drivers licenses or state-issued IDs.
That’s right – a city in the United States is giving illegal immigrants an identification card to help them use services they have no right to be using.
John DeStefano, mayor of New Haven, says the cards will encourage immigrants to carry less cash, which makes them easy targets for robbers. The mayor also says the cards will encourage immigrants who are crime victims or witnesses to cooperate with police.
What color is the sky in DeStefano’s world?
It’s unimaginable for any city, county or state in this country to be doing something to encourage illegal immigrants to move there, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen in New Haven. Count on it. Well, that is if New Haven officials can actually convince any of the estimated 10,000 to 12,000 illegal immigrants living in the city of 125,000 people to sign up.
It’s hard to believe any reputable bank would let a customer carrying a card identifying them as an illegal immigrant to open an account. Shouldn’t the government – whether it be city, state or federal – be cracking down on businesses that deal with illegal immigrants instead of encouraging such transactions?
While other cities and counties around the country are searching for ways to enforce immigration laws, New Haven stands alone. The city already provides federal tax help to immigrants and prohibits police from asking about their immigration status, so maybe we shouldn’t be surprised about the ID card idea.
We’ve never been against legal immigration. But to issue a card that provides illegal immigrants with benefits that should be reserved for legal residents is nothing short of absurd.
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