Opinion: Ban on license for undocumented immigrants is necessary

Illegal immigration has always been a hot topic in politics over the past decade.  The Southwestern region of the country has been taking action to limit the amount of illegal immigrants and the benefits they are allowed to have or access. Now, Arizona has decided to expand its driver’s license ban from only undocumented workers to all undocumented immigrants that were granted legal status by President Barack Obama in his Deferred Action Act.

This new extension on the ban was announced on Sept. 17 in a court filing of a lawsuit between the state of Arizona and the American Civil Liberties Union.  Andrew Wilder, a spokesman for Gov. Jan Brewer, said, “Recipients of regular deferred action and deferred enforced departure, similar to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), cannot demonstrate authorized presence under federal law." Only one other state, Nebraska, has openly said that they would create a law similar to Arizona’s current and updated ban.

This ban seems a bit drastic; however, it also seems necessary. It is necessary because it will diminish the amount of access that illegal immigrants have to social benefits in the States. However, it is also a bit drastic, because it limits the employment opportunities for the illegal immigrants. Whether people like it or not, illegal immigrants will take the jobs that an American citizen will not even consider and do the job well.

This ban is not what should be on the minds of politicians. Immigration is one of the main problems that has been pushed to the side so employment and the national debt can be solved first. It is understandable that this ban is in a state that is on the Mexico-United States border, but the state should be worried about finding a way to decrease the 7.8 percent unemployment rate. Immigration can wait; take care of the current problems before moving on to another one.