Chief supports driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants
Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales on Wednesday publicly voiced support for giving undocumented immigrants in Wisconsin a chance to get driver’s licenses.
It’s uncommon for Morales to comment on proposed state policies. But in his statement to dinner guests at a national convention for the Latino civil rights group League of United Latin American Citizens, Morales said driver’s permits help policing efforts and can reduce reckless driving.
“Maybe if we get in an accident we’re not going to flee from the police — because there’s no need to flee,” Morales said. “And for law enforcement, we need to identify who’s driving that vehicle when something happens. So it’s a win-win for all of us.”
Since 2007, Wisconsin residents have to prove they are legally in the United States to receive driver’s licenses. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who spoke earlier at the dinner at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, introduced a provision in the state budget this year to provide licenses to undocumented immigrants. Republican lawmakers cut the proposal. Evers said in April that if that happened, he would support the introduction of a separate bill for licenses.
That bill has not yet been introduced in the Legislature. Evers said at the dinner he planned to get it passed but Republican legislators have blocked his efforts.
“At the end of the day, I believe it was about politics. They chose to be divisive and less pragmatic than I would hope they would be,” Evers said. “But the good news is, we’re not giving up here in Wisconsin. … We are going to have this happen.”
Republicans have said that providing
licenses would provide an incentive to break the law and that people need to follow a set path to citizenship.
In a night punctuated by political statements, dinner guests also heard from speakers such as former second lady Jill Biden — campaigning for her husband Joe Biden — Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, Mayor Tom Barrett and former Milwaukee Brewer Carlos Gomez.
Presidential candidate and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney was scheduled to speak at the dinner but canceled because of a conflict, a conference spokeswoman said. Delaney is polling around 1.3% in Iowa and 0.1% nationally, according to RealClearPolitics, and has campaigned as a centrist with practical solutions.
A slew of other presidential candidates attended or were scheduled to attend the conference Thursday and Friday, including U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Michael Bennet of Colorado; former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke; former housing secretary Julián Castro; Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; and spiritual leader and author Marianne Williamson.
President Donald Trump is also coming to Milwaukee Friday — for a fundraiser and tour of Derco Aerospace Inc.
So issues important to Latino voters are at the forefront of the presidential conversation this week — and Morales took the uncommon step of chiming in.
He joins other Wisconsin leaders in endorsing licenses for undocumented immigrants.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Madison Police Chief Mike Koval have previously spoken in favor of the provision.
State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, whose Milwaukee Assembly seat has the largest share of Hispanics in Wisconsin, for years has been filing bills that would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses.
She also spoke Wednesday at the dinner.