Earlier this year, the State of Colorado enacted legislation enabling so-called Dreamers (ie, DACA recipients) to obtain state-granted professional licenses. Last year, New Jersey had passed similar legislation. Note that both Colorado and New Jersey are sanctuaries, states that have declared themselves supportive of illegal migrants, like Dreamers. Note also that both states are run by Democrats. No surprise, right?
Well, what does one then make of Arkansas, a Southern state with a Republican governor (Asa Hutchinson), Republican-dominated Senate (27 Republicans, 7 Democrats), and a Republican-dominated House of Representatives (78 Republicans, 22 Democrats)?
The apparently conservative stronghold of Arkansas has now, as of July 1, joined its left-leaning fellow states in enacting Dreamer-friendly legislation permitting illegal aliens to obtain state-granted licenses in medicine, law, construction, veterinary medicine, agriculture, and more.
The new law, which Governor Hutchinson called “a special moment in Arkansas history,” will allow the nearly 5,000 DACA recipients in the state and others with federal work permits to obtain any professional or occupational license in Arkansas. It represents yet another step in the steady erasure of the distinction between citizen and illegal resident in this country. And this time it was done enthusiastically by Republicans.
Promoting legislation of this kind has been a priority of the hard-left organization FWD.us, financed and founded by Mark Zuckerberg and other high-tech CEOs.
Only one senator (Trent Garner) and three representatives (Joshua Bryant, Bruce Cozart, and Gayla McKenzie), all Republicans, voted against the legislation. Senator Garner said Arkansas “shouldn’t be encouraging illegal aliens to be here for any reason.” His Senate colleagues apparently disagreed.
For more, see Breitbart News.