Jolene Ivey Recognized as the Voice of Reason in the State House.

Jolene Ivey Recognized as the Voice of Reason in the State House. Way to go Jolene!

Eric Hartley: A rare glimpse of reason By ERIC HARTLEY, Staff Writer Published February 26, 2009 On an issue as emotionally charged as immigration, reasoned debate is often in short supply. The extremes tend to shout louder than those in the middle - literally or figuratively. Such was the case yesterday afternoon at a House of Delegates committee hearing on licensing requirements for immigrants. Del. Ron George, R-Arnold, set the stakes by invoking Sept. 11 and "terrorists using nuclear weapons," suggesting that allowing illegal immigrants to have driver's licenses puts the nation at risk of an attack worse than 9/11 - never mind that the 19 hijackers were in the country legally. And one woman submitted a packet of written testimony that included articles with headlines like "Illegal aliens linked to gang rape wave: The crime epidemic no one will talk about?" Rape scares. Now there's a good way to start a civil discussion. "It actually makes me sad. I start to feel like the worst side of people is exposed during discussions like that," Del. Jolene Ivey, D-Prince George's, said before the hearing of the House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis. Ivey has introduced a dose of moderation, proposing a compromise under which Maryland could comply with federal law by verifying immigration status, but still allow people without "proof of legal presence," as the jargon goes, to get some form of driver's license. The better of her two proposals is to give undocumented people what amounts to a second-class driver's license. It would be clearly marked as not acceptable for federal purposes like boarding a plane. With a different design and color than a legal resident's license, it would be easy to spot. Of course, to some critics, writing into law that illegal immigrants can get licenses of any kind amounts to legislating lawlessness. The push for proof of legal presence comes as Maryland and every other state scramble to comply with Real ID, a 2005 federal law requiring states to establish legal presence before issuing IDs, among many other things. The risk of not complying is that, perhaps as early as next year, Marylanders couldn't enter a federal building or board a plane with a driver's license. Ivey's proposals aren't perfect - George said other states that have tried such "tiered" systems have abandoned them - but at least they represent a step toward the middle. Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration supports a bill introduced by George that flatly requires proof of legal presence for any state-issued identification. Ironically, that system - while it might make people feel good, having struck a blow for law and order - might actually make us less safe. Ivey's husband, Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn Ivey, told the committee that prosecutors and police want everyone to have state-issued identification because it helps solve crimes. He said the Motor Vehicle Administration database is one of the first places detectives look in homicide and sex assault cases and warned of "unintended consequences" of changing the system. Isn't it better to have everyone, including illegal immigrants, documented with their pictures in a state database than to have thousands of people off the grid, yet still driving and, in some cases, committing crimes?