Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Illegals in Jersey with Plates from PA

Are you an illegal immigrant? Do you live in a state with a complicated drivers license process, making it harder for you to get a ...

padriverslicense.jpg Are you an illegal immigrant? Do you live in a state with a complicated drivers license process, making it harder for you to get a license?

Then make a run for the border! No, not that border. Just the nearest state line:

Stymied by New Jersey's tough motor vehicle laws, [illegal immigrants] have traveled to states with more lax regulations to obtain the paperwork they need to get behind the wheel.

It's a tactic thousands have used, making the streets of many of New Jersey's immigrant neighborhoods look like a South Jersey Turnpike rest stop. Besides Pennsylvania, license plates from Maryland, North Carolina and Michigan abound.

No matter your opinion on illegal immigration, this does seem to be a thorny problem. And even though the REAL ID law is extremely controversial and kind of impossible to implement, issues like this do make you wonder whether we ought to have a standard process for obtaining a license.

Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
From Our Partners