Editorials

Action by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to shut down a fake driver's license operation in Houston this week is a noteworthy development.

An enforcement action filed by the attorney general asked the court to stop a Houston company from selling fake international driver's licenses. Harris County District Judge Grant Dorfman granted the request for a temporary restraining order, prohibiting the vendor from continuing to illegally manufacture and market the fake licenses.

The company, Centro de Indentificaciones, Spanish for "Identifications Center," made patently false statements in its Spanish-language advertising and marketed the illegal products in a campaign that spanned several states.

Defendants' advertisements claimed the licenses were 100 percent legal and declared purchasers need not be state residents. They also falsely indicated their licenses would expedite buyers' ability to buy and insure motor vehicles. Finally, defendants falsely assured buyers the licenses were authorized under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The defendants have never been authorized by the state of Texas, the U.S. government or United Nations to sell and issue international driver's licenses, the attorney general's enforcement action said. Defendants were charged with Texas DTPA violations because they falsely represented that their company is authorized to issue the licenses, which were sold for $225 each.

The attorney general is seeking restitution for harmed individuals and civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation and attorneys' fees.

"The scheme preyed upon foreign nationals who reside in this country who were seeking a driver's license," Abbott explained. "The fake licenses conferred a false appearance of legitimacy on those who are in the United States illegally."

Most states, including Texas, refuse to issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

In 2004, 14 states had a policy of issuing licenses to illegal aliens; a practice campaigned against by Americans for Immigration Control. Currently just five states - Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, Utah and Washington - still allow illegal aliens to get driver's licenses.

The AIC has called for a strict, sensible national policy on handing out driver's licenses that would keep them out of the hands of illegal aliens.

Legislation has been introduced in the House (H.R. 4176) and Senate (S. 2356) "to enhance national security by restricting access of illegal aliens to driver's licenses and state-issued identification documents."

Giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens is a bad idea on many levels, supporters of the legislation contend. First, it is a "virtual amnesty" that encourages even more illegal immigration. Driver's licenses also give illegal aliens the "legitimate" ID they need to seek employment, open bank accounts, buy houses and collect government benefits, including Social Security and welfare.

Handing out driver's licenses also makes it more difficult to detect and remove illegal aliens, the AIC points out. And it notes that even Mexico has a clear policy of refusing nonlegal residents driver's licenses.

Congress is reluctant to tackle immigration reform again, but this election year citizens can confirm continuing high interest on the issue by pushing action to restrict illegal aliens' access to official identification documents.

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