Marine killed by illegal

Posting Date: December 14, 2006
Driving While Illegal Ends in Soldier’s Death
By DANIEL JOHN SOBIESKIA
U.S. Marine who survived combat in Iraq died recently when an illegal alien slammed into his car at a red light. The other driver shouldn’t have been drinking — at least not in this country.Marine Cpl. Brian Mathews had served eight months in Iraq and another tour of duty in the Pacific and had come home to Maryland for the Thanksgiving holidays. He was scheduled to leave the Corps in June.He and his date, Jennifer Bower, 22, were killed Thanksgiving night when they were hit from behind by Eduardo Raul Morales-Soriano, who was driving with a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit. A week later, Morales-Soriano was identified by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in Baltimore as an illegal alien. The argument is that we should provide driver’s licenses to illegal aliens because they are going to drive to their jobs anyway and obtaining a license at least improves public safety.But Morales-Soriano had a license. He had it nine months earlier when he had an accident in a parking lot and failed a field sobriety test.But a clerical error by police caused the proper paperwork to suspend that license to be filed. Nor did police bother to check his immigration status. That, according to the ACLU and others, would be racial profiling and discriminatory. So, Morales-Soriano went on his merry way, to drink and drive again.Maryland is among a handful of states that do not prohibit illegal aliens from obtaining driver’s licenses or other identification, either through outright bans or restrictions that make it impossible to game the systemMorales-Soriano had a license from North Carolina which he used to apply for a Maryland license. North Carolina’s rules are arguably the least restrictive and is a popular destination for those who might otherwise be denied a license.Court officials in New Jersey have complained that North Carolina’s requirements are so lax that busloads of illegal immigrants make regular trips there to obtain licenses fraudulently.An audit by the Department of Transportation noted documents accepted as proof of residency in North Carolina are easily forged.Maryland Delegate Christopher B. Shank has said that denying a license to Morales-Sorianomight have made a difference and saved two lives. Had he lacked a license, Morales-Soriano might have been prosecuted after the earlier incident. Had his immigration status been checked at any point, he might have been sent home.The REAL ID act, scheduled to take effect in 2008, will prohibit all states from issuing licenses to illegal aliens or the licenses will not be accepted as identification for federal purposes.Even with REAL ID, which will undoubtedly be challenged, the opportunity to game the system will exist. Some states will resist and treat enforcement with benign neglect. This is not only a matter of public safety but a matter of national security. Not all of those who violate our laws are looking for a better life for themselves and their families. One of the first things the Sept. 11 terrorists did when they arrived in the United States was to get driver’s licenses.The 19 terrorists traveled all around the country, to states that granted licenses to virtually anyone, and acquired 63 of them. Maryland Delegate Ana Sol Guitierrez says tightening license requirements wouldn’t solve the problem, saying, “The fact that a driver is drunk and has an accident — of course that is abhorrent.But that’s got nothing to do with where they were born or what their immigration status is.” Yes, Cpl. Mathews could have been as easily killed by a drunken driver who was an American citizen. But we have enough carnage on our highways. We don’t have to import it.