October 05, 2005

New Haven Won't Issue IDs to Illegals

Just one day after endorsing the plan, New Haven mayor John DeStefano Jr. has said the city will not be providing ID cards to illegal immigrants in the city. At a press conference Monday, Police Chief Francisco Ortiz (who was behind the plan with the mayor) said:

"Folks need a legitimate form of identification and this city will help them receive one," Ortiz said on the tape.

Yes, but if folks aren't legitimate citizens, then why should they receive legitimate identification? It's not clear why the mayor did an about face, but a spokesman said the city had not sought legal advice about the idea before announcing it. It's comforting to know elected officials stay up to speed on legal issues.

At the press event, DeStefano, Ortiz and Latino community leaders announced Hablamos Espanol, a new initiative aimed at making City Hall more user-friendly for Spanish speakers by providing bilingual forms, such as birth and death certificates.

It would have been nice for my great-grandparents if a program entitled Wir Sprechen Deutsch was in place when they arrived from Germany. Just think--they wouldn't have had to go through the hassle of learning English! And what about the legal immigrants from Russia, China, Japan, Norway, Poland...the list is endless. No special bilingual forms for them either!

Giving illegal immigrants benefits that should only be available to citizens only encourages them to sneak over here. Enforce the laws as they stand. You don't like them? Lobby Congress for reform.

As for programs like Hablamos Espanol, they hurt all Spanish-speaking immigrants by encouraging them to isolate themselves from the community at large.

Try telling that to the PC crowd.

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