DEPORTATION, DENIAL OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP FOR LIFE COULD RESULT
by DefendtheVote.com, ©2016
(Nov. 7, 2016) — The answer is no, and especially not if they ever want to be a United States citizen.
This issue came up on Sunday after Barack Obama made the following statement in an interview with Latino star Gina Rodriguez.
RODRIGUEZ: Many of the Millennials, Dreamers, undocumented citizens — and I call them “citizens” ’cause they contribute to this country — are fearful of voting. So if I vote, will immigration know where I live? Will they come for my family and deport us?
OBAMA: Not true.
RODRIGUEZ: Okay.
OBAMA: And the reason is — first of all, when you vote, you are a citizen yourself, and there is not a situation where the voting rolls somehow are transferred over and people start investigating, et cetera. The sanctity of the vote is strictly confidential in terms of who you voted for. If you have a family member who maybe is undocumented, then you have an even greater reason to vote.
Senator Jeff Sessions has requested Obama clarify his statement. So far, Obama has not made a clarifying statement.
Defend the Vote has conducted a couple of investigations about the issue of non-citizens voting in Illinois. This issue is especially important since this is the first election where voters can register to vote on Election Day without a picture ID. 2 pieces of ID are required. Most jurisdictions attempt to first get a driver’s license or state ID. The jury is out to how secure this process is, and we will continue to investigate the integrity of this process after the election.
Recently, we have had a couple of calls expressing concerns related to the state-issued drivers’ licenses that are given to illegal aliens who are living within the State of Illinois. In 2014, Former Governor Quinn signed a bill permitting illegal alien residents of Illinois to get a special driver’s license. Legal residents who are non-citizens get a regular driver’s license, just like citizens.
The special driver’s license for illegal aliens is purple. It states in bold that the license cannot be used for ID. This means they cannot use it anywhere for ID, not even to get into an office building or the court house. It cannot be used to board an airplane. It is strictly for driving. People getting this license are not asked if they want to register to vote when the license is issued. If a prospective voter was to attempt to register to vote with this ID, it would be rejected. If it was used, it would be immediate evidence to the Judge of Election that the person is not qualified to vote.
Legal residents who are non-citizens have a regular driver’s license. Can they use it to register to vote? Technically, yes, and they are asked when they get their license updated if they want to register to vote. Not because of fraud, but because there is no distinction in the license that identifies they are legal non-citizens here on a green card.
However, the incident of these individuals voting is quite low. Federal law mandates that any non-citizen that votes is ineligible for citizenship and they are deported. When someone applies for citizenship, if the voter registration list shows they were registered to vote, they must get a certified letter from the county clerk verifying that they did not vote. We reported on this a few years ago. The County Clerk of the second largest county in Illinois that we interviewed confirmed that in her tenure only a handful of non-citizens who had a traditional driver’s license had voted.
Illinois is currently updating their driver’s licenses to a more secure license that will allow the continued use of an Illinois driver’s license to fly on an airplane. Consequently, Illinois licenses are no longer issued at the vehicle centers. When you update your license, your original license is destroyed by placing a hole in the middle and the driver gets the license back with a certified paper copy that is good for 90 days. Then the application is sent downstate for final review. The photo is scanned by facial recognition software before the hard copy is issued and sent to the driver. If the name and the picture do not match, the license is not sent. This process cuts down on the risk of someone being able to steal someone’s ID and then use it as their own.
A similar process is used for the license for illegal aliens, except their permanent license and the temporary paper license clearly states it cannot be used for ID. On the positive side, this process documents illegal aliens and associates them via facial recognition software to a name and a person.
It is unsettling that Obama inferred it is okay for non-citizens to vote, and I hope he takes up the challenge by Sessions to clarify his statement. The facts are if a non-citizen, whether here legally or not, should vote, they lose the right to ever become a citizen and they are deported. Obama’s statement is confusing and he should clarify the facts for both citizens and non-citizens.
The MOST insecure way to vote in Illinois is through mail-in-paper voting. This way of voting is never audited, which opens the door for massive voter fraud: fraud that is nearly risk free. As soon as the election is over, we will be asking for new safe guards for the mail-in-paper ballot.
Transcripts and the video Rodriquez and Obama interview is on Breitbart News.
RODRIGUEZ: Is the election rigged?
OBAMA: No. Unfortunately, here in America, there is a tradition of making it hard for people to vote. You know, historically, it was done purposefully to prevent African-Americans from voting. And that tradition sometimes has carried over. But here’s the good news: even though people try to discourage you from voting, if you want to vote, and you show up at your polling place, they can’t stop you from voting.
RODRIGUEZ: Hm.
OBAMA: They can’t stop you from voting. If people want to know how to vote, then you can go to iwillvote.com. The fact of the matter is that we give our power away all the time. You know, we tell ourselves, “it’s hard, it’s not gonna matter, it’s not gonna count.” And the powers that be, they’re counting on us giving our power away.
RODRIGUEZ: Many of the Millennials, Dreamers, undocumented citizens — and I call them “citizens” ’cause they contribute to this country — are fearful of voting. So if I vote, will immigration know where I live? Will they come for my family and deport us?
OBAMA: Not true.
RODRIGUEZ: Okay.
OBAMA: And the reason is — first of all, when you vote, you are a citizen yourself, and there is not a situation where the voting rolls somehow are transferred over and people start investigating, et cetera. The sanctity of the vote is strictly confidential in terms of who you voted for. If you have a family member who maybe is undocumented, then you have an even greater reason to vote.
RODRIGUEZ: This has been a huge fear presented, especially during this election.
OBAMA: And the reason that fear is promoted is because they don’t want people voting. People are discouraged from voting. And part of what is important for Latino citizens is to make your voice heard, because you’re not just speaking for yourself. You’re speaking for family members, friends, classmates of yours in school–
RODRIGUEZ: Your entire community.
OBAMA: …Who may not have a voice. Who can’t legally vote. But they’re counting on you to make sure that you have the courage to make your voice heard.