To the Editor,
Offering those who entered this country illegally the privilege of obtaining a Massachusetts driver’s license has absolutely nothing to do with safety, and will only create more risks for law-abiding citizens.
In an interview with Western Mass News on Monday 02/17/20, Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood said she had all of the research she had reviewed, says that giving illegal immigrants drivers licenses does absolutely nothing to make our roads any safer. It does however give illegals a legal identification that can be used to access our public safety net meant for citizens, and for voter identification.
I was glad to see in the same interview State Senate candidate John Cain mention one important fact that many are ignoring. If illegal aliens were willing to drive without licenses and insurance until now, as all legal drivers are required to have, then they don’t care about our laws. This is evident in the fact that they are already in our nation illegally.
I appreciate that some leaders are willing to stand up to these radical policies. Both Springfield Mayor Sarno, a Democrat, and John Cain, a Republican State Senate candidate, were willing to take a stand to enforce our laws and support law-enforcement. The silence from other politicians is deafening. State Rep. Velis who is running against Cain for State Senate, should take a stand and support our national and state laws. Massachusetts needs leaders, not rubber stamps who pander and go along to get along.
Pew Research Center has cited data which shows Massachusetts has led the nation in growth of illegal immigrant population since 2007. As recently as 2017, Pew data says there are at least 275,000 illegal immigrants in Massachusetts. Do we really want 275,000 people on our roads, who have already disregarded our traffic laws, and placed the safety and lives of Massachusetts drivers and pedestrians at risk for decades?
Any politician not willing to stand up for our nation and laws, does not deserve to be elected to any position.
Dawn McElwey
Westfield
