Illegal Alien Questions Rise Again in California

In Los Angeles county (southern California), police officials are investigating the idea of allowing illegal aliens to drive without drivers licenses.

This idea is wrong for several reasons:

• Nobody should be allowed to drive in California without taking both a written test and a driving test. The driving test in California is strict. California drivers licenses are accepted in several other countries (when accompanied by a passport) and all of the USA.
• The primary form of legal identification used in California is ones drivers license (one must show an original birth certificate or a passport to obtain a California drivers license). Non-drivers may obtain a similar identification card.
• Drivers licenses are available to aliens (people who are visiting the country), provided the other requirements are satisfied. The drivers licenses of people under 21 years of age and aliens have distinct marks.
• Part of the issue relates to vehicle registration and insurance.

There is already a way for aliens to drive in California, provided they have met the requirements, so what is the issue?

The issue is that many people live and work in California who have no legal right to be here (borders are part of the "Sovereignty" of every nation). Unless the US opens its borders to all, then it is not reasonable to allow over 12 million people to live and work here illegally (5% of the US population).

Because of the widespread immigration of those without valid visas, whole subgroups of exploited and underpaid people have developed and various industries have grown to rely on the ability to underpay workers. The recent problems in Georgia (when the state started checking work permission for farm workers and food rotted in the fields) are an example.

The ability of companies to exploit illegal laborers (undocumented workers) has reduced the price of necessities, while making it harder for legal workers to earn enough to take care of a family. The average (median) per worker income in 2010 was around $54000/year. The poverty level (substandard housing, poor food, poor medical care, and so on) is approximately half of the median income. This means that a fair minimum wage is over $12/hour. Since illegal aliens earn less than half of this, they become a drag on the the workforce and the congress has no incentive to set a reasonable minimum wage.

The US cannot deport 12 million people, but the US can afford to insist that all workers are either citizens or have work visas.

This problem is also related to the exporting of jobs to other countries, a problem that is ruining the US, Japan, and much of the EU.