Jacobs, Law Enforcement, continue push against Green Light bill

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Photo credit State Senator Chris Jacobs pushes back again "Green Light" bill and has support from Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard and Hamburg Police Chief Gregory Wickett. June 7, 2019 (WBEN Photo/Mike Baggerman)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The push back against the "green light" bill in Albany continued on Friday when New York State Senator Chris Jacobs argued that its passage will result in "rampant voter fraud".

The bill would allow undocumented aliens to obtain a driver's license. Supporters of the bill argue that illegals deserve to obtain a license for moral reasons and because of its benefit on the economy while opponents argue that illegal status means they should not be given the ability to obtain one.  

Jacobs, a former Erie County Clerk, said that auto bureaus in the region recently installed iPads which helped expedite the voter registration.

State Senator Chris Jacobs, Hamburg Police Chief Gregory Wickett, and Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard push back against the “green light” bill in Albany, which will be voted on next week in the legislature. pic.twitter.com/4NEi1TNGWt

— WBEN NewsRadio 930AM (@NewsRadio930) June 7, 2019

"All that infrastructure was put into place on the assumption, as it's always been, that those coming in and doing business at our auto bureaus were legal citizens," Jacobs told reporters on Friday. "This law would dramatically change that by allowing illegal aliens to come in. This would be a very vulnerable place where people can easily register to vote. If they come in, they have to provide very little documentation on their status if they're illegal. They'll begin to do a transaction and get that driver's license...that iPad prompts the ability to register to vote."

Hamburg Police Chief Gregory Wickett and Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard both oppose the bills. Wickett argued that giving illegals a license "defies logic" while Howard said that the bill's passage would put up walls with different levels of law enforcement, meaning data could not be shared with federal authorities.

"We're in a continued war against terror, yet suggesting that giving driver's licenses to undocumented aliens who have not entered out country legally, with no indication they will change that behavior and now engage exclusively in legal, lawful conduct, that these individuals would then use those driver's license to get unquestioned boarding on airplanes," Howard said. "Think what your driver's license means to you and how often you show your license."

The bill was passed through the Assembly Transportation Committee on Wednesday and is likely to pass next week. In the State Senate, the bill faces uncertainty.