Senate Bill 833, which would grant four-year driver's licenses to Oregon's illegal immigrants, "recognizes reality," says The Oregonian editorial board ("Legal driving for illegal immigrants," April 5). How? "People come here illegally, they drive, and they'll continue to do both" -- whether SB833 is enacted or not.
But "giving people a chance to do legally that which they now do illegally," as the editorial phrases it, only encourages more people to do what had been illegal in the first place. A prime example is the amnesty of 1986, which granted legal presence to about 3 million illegal immigrants. Despite that amnesty's concurrent promises of stronger immigration-law enforcement, today the number of illegal immigrants has ballooned to an estimated 11 million-plus -- many drawn, no doubt, by expectation that the 1986 amnesty would be followed by another.
The parallel? If Oregon grants driving privileges to illegal immigrants, it will join Washington, Utah, New Mexico and Illinois as the only states to do so. If illegal immigrants can get to jobs in Oregon more easily than they can in 45 other states, will not tens of thousands more be encouraged to come here?
In February, almost 180,000 Oregonians were unemployed. One reason: more than 120,000 illegal immigrants, according to estimates from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, hold jobs here. Many of these jobs are derided as ones "Americans won't do," in fields like food services, construction and building maintenance/groundskeeping.
But in those three fields, 88 percent, 83 percent and 81 percent of the workforces, respectively, have recently (as per the Pew Hispanic Center) been filled by Americans and legal residents. What chance will unemployed Oregonians have to fill their remaining percentages if state lawmakers grant illegal immigrants the licenses that will make it easier for them -- and for those drawn here in the future -- to travel to their illegally held jobs?
"Will large numbers of illegal immigrants buy insurance once they've obtained temporary licenses?" asks the editorial. Probably not. New Mexico, which grants licenses to illegal immigrants, "is home to the nation's second-highest percentage of uninsured drivers despite having a mandatory liability insurance law," FAIR noted recently.
"Illegal immigrants play a significant role in Oregon's economy that's both unrealistic and naive to ignore," says the editorial. Agreed -- so let's not ignore that role any longer. A 2012 FAIR study estimates that Oregon's illegal immigrants and their children now pay $77 million a year in state and local taxes but consume more than $1 billion a year in state and local services -- a disparity that would grow if access to driver's licenses draws more illegal immigrants here.
"Our responsibility is to look after the well-being of all the residents of the state of Oregon, regardless of their immigration status," says Causa's Francisco Lopez ("Bill would give licenses to illegal immigrants," April 2). Wrong. Our responsibility is to our citizens, whom SB833 would harm.
On Thursday, the Senate Business and Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing on the bill. Oregonians should demand that committee members vote no on SB833.
Richard F. LaMountain serves as vice president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform.