Volunteer State News

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), along with several other Republican senators, are championing legislation that will keep illegal immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses.

“No town in America is secure from criminals and terrorists if our borders aren’t policed and federal immigration laws aren’t fully enforced,” Blackburn said in a statement, The Epoch Times reported. “This country is governed by the rule of law. We should not reward illegal aliens with driver licenses when they fail to follow the proper legal process.”

Blackburn and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) in February 2020 introduced the same legislation which was quickly put off by Congress. 

The piece of legislation seeks to cancel all funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program which last year alone granted $53 million to states that issued licenses to illegal migrants.

Blackburn feels the grant will fuel the issuance of licenses to illegal migrants so she says a change in guidelines might be helpful.

“This law will require states that issue driver licenses to illegal aliens or states that fail to share immigration enforcement information with the DHS to return unallocated funds to the JAG program within 30 days,” she said, the Epoch Times reported.

If passed, the law will see states that defy the guidelines being withdrawn immediately from the JAG funds. One state that might actually be affected is Oregon which has a "Driver License for all" policy. 

Proof of legal presence in the United States is no longer a requirement in the state. One is still required to produce proof of full legal name and identity, date of birth, Oregon residency, and a Social Security Number.

The Stop Greenlighting Driver Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act is being spearheaded by Blackburn with back up from a number of GOP senators, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.). 

The National Conference of State Legislatures says that 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to allow immigrants with no proof of legal stay in America, to have driver’s licenses: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.