Still Think NY Should Be Handing Out Driver's Licenses Like Candy?
Earlier in June, Democrats in New York’s state Assembly gave the green light for a bill that will allow illegal immigrants to obtain a United States driver’s license. They’re hoping their colleagues in the state Senate follow their lead and approve the bill.
Even worse, the bill would let illegal immigrants use foreign documents to establish their identity with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
While there are myriad things wrong with this plan, one recent incident highlights just how utterly dangerous and irresponsible New York Democrats are acting on this issue.
On Friday, 23-year-old Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, who came to the United States from Ukraine, crashed into a group of 10 motorcyclists and killed seven of them on a New Hampshire road.
A haunting picture of the fiery wreck, posted by WMUR TV, can be seen in the tweet below
Update: Multiple fatalities have been reported as a result of a crash involving motorcycles and a pickup truck on Route 2 in Randolph: https://t.co/jRXu5YaPKK
?: u local/Miranda Thompson pic.twitter.com/2O8VTNWtQu
— WMUR TV (@WMUR9) June 22, 2019
At the time of the crash, Zhukovskyy was actually out of jail, on bond, from a pending drunk driving case out of Connecticut.
On top of that, the Ukrainian immigrant had a long and disturbing record that — according to Washington Examiner — included two at-fault accidents, one of them being another drunken-driving situation. In 2018, the reckless individual pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge.
There’s even more than that from when he was younger. Why his license hadn’t been revoked at some point is beyond me.
While Zhukovskyy wasn’t in the United States illegally and Massachusetts is calling it a “bureaucratic mistake” to not suspend his license, I pointed out his criminal past because imagine handing an illegal immigrant a driver’s license without knowing what their past records contain?
New York could be handing out licenses to illegal immigrants with similar pasts as Zhukovskyy’s, or even worse. And they’re fine with putting these mostly unvetted people on the roads — ones who could easily jeopardize the safety of legal, American drivers?
Something doesn’t pass the smell test here. According to Democrat & Chronicle, Democrats even admitted in a statement urging their colleagues to pass the bill that it wasn’t a “popular” decision.
“I hope our colleagues in this Senate garner the courage to do what’s right, not what’s popular,” Assemblyman Phil Ramos said.
I wish someone would explain how, exactly, it’s “right” to issue a driver’s license to people for whom we do not have the faintest idea of what their past holds.
And it’s not like they’ll be limited to small cars or have many restrictions on what they can drive. The truck that Zhukovskyy used, which was pulling a trailer, created unspeakable force in the fatal crash. You don’t need a special driver’s license to drive a truck and pull a trailer.
The possible dangerous scenarios are endless. Imagine one of these illegal immigrants with a shady driving history decides to drive a heavy-duty truck with a trailer loaded down with rocks. Would you want them on the road with your family?
Luckily, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detainer request on Zhukovskyy, which means he could be sent on a one-way trip back to Ukraine.
Hopefully, New York state senators come to their senses and realize that this driver’s license plan is a prime ingredient for future tragedies.
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