Texas Republican Women Endorse Driver Permits for Illegal Immigrants

Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, has taken heat from Republican colleagues for a repeated effort to provide a pathway to driver permitting for illegal immigrants.

After various police departments approached him, Cook took on the task of convincing other lawmakers that it made sense to create a special permit.

First, it would allow illegal immigrants to obtain car and liability insurance. That alone would make drivers more responsible and provide help when there are accidents.

And the bill provides that the immigrants would need to be photographed and fingerprinted. That also helps law enforcement, he said.

But Cook has been beaten down in several votes before the House.

On Tuesday, he received some strong political backing by arguably one of the most powerful coalitions in the state: the Texas Federation of Republican Women.

“In light of the benefits to public health and safety for Texas citizens as well as the protection of Texas elections, your Texas Driver’s Permit policy is a common sense decision for everyone concerned,” wrote TFRW president Carolyn Hodges in a letter dated last Friday.

“The driver’s permit, only issued for noncommercial uses, will allow noncitizen drivers to purchase collision insurance and have a known identity within our state. The alternative is to have these individuals, as many are, driving on Texas Highways anonymously without permits and uninsured in the event of an accident. If these individuals are driving in Texas, it would be best to have them identified, permitted and insured,” Hodges wrote in the letter to Cook”.