February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
We’ve learned this week that the driver’s licenses of New York State residents who were born outside the United States are now been closely scrutinized.
The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles has sent letters to drivers whose license application has a social security number that does not match Social Security Administration’s records.
The reality, known to every politician and government official in New York State, is that every immigrant community, including that of the Irish, includes people who are not properly documented. Also known is that many of these people conjured up a social security number in order to try to build a life in the United States. In many cases they’ve gone on to form businesses and raise families. Their hard work and their initiative is valued by the broader community and its leaders.
Now it’s time these leaders made their views known about bureaucratic measures that serve no rational purpose in protecting us from terrorism and only cause worry and distress to decent, law-abiding members of our community.