Illegal immigration

As Congress takes up the immigration bill, a New York court has issued a rare common-sense opinion in a case involving illegal aliens.

First, a little background.

Judges in a handful of states over the past few years have shot down laws that demand voters produce identification when they go to the polls. Some of the opposition to such measures is based upon a concern that the poor or elderly might be disenfranchised. But defenders of illegal immigrants also vociferously object to the requirement.

Similarly, while the Real ID Act -- passed by Congress and requiring states to verify the identities of those who renew their driver's licenses -- has generated understandable opposition from privacy advocates and limited government types, it has also been criticized by those sympathetic to problems the law may cause illegal immigrants.

And recall the outrage in California after former Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill allowing illegals to obtain driver's licenses. The matter became a central issue in Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful effort to recall Gov. Davis -- and months later Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill.

Meanwhile, polls showed that more than 60 percent of Californians opposed efforts to let illegal immigrants obtain driver's licenses.

Back to New York.

On Thursday, the Empire State's highest court said New York has the right to deny driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The judges rejected claims by illegal immigrant advocates that a policy requiring applicants to provide documents showing they were in the county legally is "essentially an effort to deny driver's licenses to immigrants not legally present in New York."

Read between the quotation marks again. That's apparently not a joke.

Despite healthy public support for provisions demanding ID at the polls or prohibiting those here illegally from obtaining state sanction to drive, opponents of these requirements have succeeded brilliantly in making them seem racist and controversial. And they've had victories fighting the measures in court.

Perhaps this New York ruling is a sign that trend has finally begun to change.