DeSantis does it again

The Florida Reichstag passed a bill stating that Florida won't recognize driver's licenses issued to undocumented immigrants by other states. This one might hold up. No law requires any state to issue driver's licenses or state ID cards that are not REAL ID compliant and I don't think Florida does. It is a stupid thing to do, though, and there will be problems. Here's why:

New Mexico, for example, issues licenses and IDs that are either REAL ID compliant (star bellied Sneetches) or endorsed "not for federal identification purposes" (plain bellied Sneetches). The latter do not require proof of lawful residence.

But here's the thing. A citizen does not have to apply for a REAL ID even though eligible and there are good reasons not to. A surprising number of older New Mexicans, for example, had "unattended" births and no birth certificate. They can pursue proof of citizenship by applying for a passport and going through a long process but this is expensive and we are a poor state.

Others refuse to apply for REAL ID out of principle. Nothing in the U.S. constitution says that a citizen has the burden of proving citizenship. That's my opinion but I do have REAL ID.

Point is, Florida is refusing to extend "full faith and credit" to the acts of sister states.

 

I read the relevant parts of the statute. I think I could craft an argument for getting it invalidated but it's pretty narrow and could survive. It contains a contradiction however that might be fatal.

It specifically applies to U.S. citizens and LPRs who opt not to obtain a REAL ID despite being eligible but in some places it seems to apply only to undocumented immigrants. That might be enough overreach to render the law invalid especially since there is no legitimate reason for the law in the first place.

I have long thought that 14th Amendment equal protection should apply to driver's licenses but the courts don't agree.

 

At bottom it's just more fascist hate.

 

He is absolutely awful.

It's certainly a change from the southwest where many undocumented immigrants are offered opportunities to go to college. He seems like the type who would be concerned about protecting jobs of US citizens while failing to realize that this country has had drastically declining birth rates and needs young people to fill jobs and care for US citizens as they age. We need immigrants at this point, and beggars can't be choosers... whether he likes it or not.

Also, I am with you on the 14th amendment issues. The way the housing system works in the US, people who are unsheltered must experience literal homelessness for nine months before they really qualify for any housing assistance. In that time most people either lose their identification or have it stolen. Only about 8% of people here receive a voucher through the housing system. The rest typically have to apply for HUD apartments that are project-based vouchers which have a wait time of about six to nine months. I have yet to see anyone apply to one of those as soon as they became unsheltered. The HUD apartments require an absurd amount of documentation including a state ID and a birth certificate. I have never in my life had a regular landlord require a birth certificate from me. It seems to me that goes against the idea that people born or naturalized in the US should not need an ID to pursue life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness in a country which has all but made being unsheltered illegal. However, I am also in the camp that housing is a human right and I can say from watching city council meetings and literally hearing people say "housing is not a human right" that not everyone seems to agree on that and I suspect DeSantis is one of those too.

 

The best argument DeSantis has to get Republicans to vote for him for the nomination is that Trump has too much baggage to get elected in the general election. The problem is that his actions make it seem that he's doing everything he can to nullify that argument by creating his own baggage so that folks won't vote for him in the general election. At least Trump has some charisma to accompany his baggage.

Thank goodness I'm not a Republican. It would be difficult choosing between those two. I'd have to vote for Niki or Asa or Chris or ??

 

Hate works. Facebook and Twitter found this out when their algorithms learned of this and began funneling more hate to their users. The algorithms did it because those kinds of pieces were more successful in generating clicks and retaining users longer.

You've got a whole political party based on it now. Why? Because that's what resonates with their voters. Normally, they have external, even imaginary, targets for their hate. But during this coming primary season? They'll have no one but each other.

 

DeSantis is doing his best to activate hate against immigrants and LGBTQ+ folks.

 

But they already do. And they already love Trump.

If someone is going to beat Trump, they'll either have to (a) out-Trump Trump or (b) be an alternative that draws those voters away from Trump.

Does anyone seriously think there is someone in the Republican Party who can do that?

 

Doesn’t look like it.

 

There HAS to be. Probably a preacher, on a dirt road, somewhere in the Piney Woods of the South - with a white suit, a red Cadillac convertible and a gambler's ring. ...And a fire-and-brimstone voice. Yep. He's comin'. Believe!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piney_Woods#

 

skip to 50 seconds

 

Billy Sunday! I got two thirds of the way through Elmer Gantry before I got too depressed with it to continue.

 

Some similarity - "The Ordained One" will be desperate - maybe the finance folks want the Caddy back, or some lady parishioner's husband has twigged to what's going on. An updated version of slick, murderous Semon Dye, the itinerant preacher in Erskine Caldwell's "Journeyman," published in 1938. When he appears, be careful around this "Servant of the Lord." He's got a conceal-carry permit. https://www.amazon.com/Journeyman-Novel-Brown-Thrasher-Books/dp/0820318485

I read "Journeyman" when I was about 12. Quite a learning experience at that age. I liked it.

 

And (obviously) I never forgot Semon Dye - ever, from 1955 to now. That says much more about Caldwell's writing skills than about me. I read several of his others, including "Tobacco Road" as a youngster. Memorable - all of 'em.

 

I agree, it's looking more and more like Trump might have a lock on the Republican nomination.

The possible wild card though is what kind of fallout we might see from future indictments. Admittedly the past two haven't impacted the MAGA base. Perhaps a charge of something like defrauding the United States could have more impact though? You know how politics can be, injured political leaders can be like blood in the water and lead to a shark feeding frenzy.

 

When I was an LPR, I didn't choose a real ID driver's license since I had another real ID (permanent residency/green card). However, when I moved to my most recent state last year, I was automatically issued a real ID driver's license. I was happy because I soon became a citizen and had to surrender my green card.

As it relates to DeSatanis, he's riding for a fall.

 

The more I think about it the more I think DeSantis will lose this one too. The Florida law applies to citizens and LPRs who opt the get a non REAL ID license. Refusing to recognize such a license for a driver passing through the state could be considered an unconstitutional burden on the "privileges and immunities" of U. S. citizens to enter any state at will.

NB. This is an argument not a conclusion. We won't know for sure until some court rules.

 

Driving license is important lifeline for migrants.
It's also safety indicator so people actually learning to drive and pass the driving test and get car insurance.

 

The whole idea of 2-tier licenses sounds crazy to me. We only have one type here and it's good when people ask for "Government-issued Photo ID." That's as real as it gets.

I gave up my driver's license when I hit 80 - because I hadn't owned a car for 24 years and wasn't planning to get one. There's a yearly big hassle to keep your driver's license from 80 on and I just didn't want to keep going through it. ID was no problem, though. There's what some call the "License to Walk." It's Government photo ID that looks like - and is to the same standards - of a driver's license. Only differences are, that it doesn't convey driving privileges, and costs half what a driver's license does. My pic beside this post is taken from my "License to Walk." I forget what the official name is - I think it's just "Ontario Photo ID." Works everywhere.

It sure is. I remember a story a couple of years back, on a Syrian, new to Canada. His wife and nine children came here with him, so work was a priority. The organization that sponsored him helped find him a full-time job, in a Food Market owned by Canadians who came from the Middle East.

The only problem was, it was some distance from his new home, so his sponsoring organization found him a car. The man only had a photocopy of his valid Syrian Driver's license and the original was needed to give him a Canadian equivalent. The Government relented and the new immigrant was soon busy in his new job in a new country. He'll do fine.

 

One area where Iowa beats Ontario in this regard is drivers licensing. Like in Ontario, I passed a written test to get my learners permit. Also like in Ontario, I needed an experienced driver in the car with me until I passed my road test.

Unlike in Ontario, however, a learners permit holder who is 18 or older can take the driving test immediately after passing the written one. So I signed up for Drivers Ed, got 40 hours behind the wheel and got my full license, a major asset here in rural Iowa.

In Ontario as of 2018, the process was written test = G1, 30 hours of driver's ed and 8 months with an experienced driver in the front seat, plus a passing road test to earn your G2, then another road test after a year to get your full license.

I imagine Ontario drivers are of higher quality than their Iowa equivalent, but also I could never manage all of that behind-the-wheel time in Ontario without supportive people around, so it never happened until I made it to the US.