Pennsylvania House of Representatives Holds Hearing On Making Life Easier For Illegal Aliens By Allowing Them To Obtain A Pennsylvania Driver’s License

Addicted Towns of Pa.: Stories from a state in crisis

Theses are once-proud, hard-working ethnic areas that slowly lost jobs, then entire industries, to the global economy.

---

“Unspecific Concerns”

“State Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon), who opposes the proposal, repeatedly questioned the bill. citing unspecific concerns over public safety and the rule of law.” Stephen Caruso, a reporter for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star

…post-Sept. 11 fears of terrorism led the state to tighten the ID laws that year.

State Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon), who opposes the proposal, repeatedly questioned the bill. citing unspecific concerns over public safety and the rule of law.

“The things that were put in place in 2002 were put in place for a reason, because of what happened on September 11th,” Heffley said. “Thousands of people were killed because we had loopholes in different statuses and people came in here that wanted to hurt us. There are people all over the world that right now would like to do harm to everybody in this country.”

He added that the country’s immigration system was broken, “but they are still the laws until they are adjusted.”

GOP-controlled panel hears bill to grant Pa. drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants

The bill could face skepticism from Republican-controlled chamber.

By Stephen Caruso

A Republican-controlled House panel held a rare hearing on a Democratic-sponsored bill, which would allow undocumented immigrants to get a Pennsylvania driver’s licenses.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Danilo Burgos (D-Philadelphia), would eliminate a 9/11-era law barring non-citizens from obtaining a license until the state Department of Transportation established their “lawful presence in the United States and this Commonwealth.”

During a House Transportation Committee hearing on Wednesday, advocates said the proposal would make the lives of unlicensed undocumented immigrants easier.

[snip]

State Rep. Tim Hennessey (R-Chester), the House panel’s chairman, said he was interested in addressing immigrants’ concerns despite the misinformation floating around on the bill.

Some concerned Pennsylvanians, for example, claimed in messages to Hennessey’s office that the bill would allow undocumented immigrants to vote.

Article

NYT Op-Ed: Allow Foreigners to Vote in U.S. Elections