When police start checking proof of U.S. citizenship of drivers, everyone will suffer and stay just a step from jail.

Here is a quick test. Pretend to be a police officer and ask your associate, friend or spouse to prove in 20 seconds their U.S. citizenship or legal status. If you don't get their U.S. birth certificate or passport that fast, you might have just made your day -- caught an illegal!

If this law, suggested by Assemblyman Paul Bauer, becomes a reality, all drivers would be forced to carry important paperwork with them, risking losing, damaging or having thieves steal those papers from the glove compartment. A naturalization certificate could not be legally copied, so the original must be carried at all times in the car, although it is normally kept in the safest place.

I have a simple solution to avoid the jail and stress for all legal citizens. Let the Department of Motor Vehicles check citizenship status and print the expiration day of visas when issuing a new driver's license. For U.S. citizens, the expiration day will be the same as usual. For non-U.S. citizens, the expiration day on their driver's license should reflect the expiration day of their U.S. visas, or the end of the permanent residence status.

Only then can the police, who caught the driver with an expired driver's license, suspect him of breaking immigration laws.


---- Fyodor Soloview

Anchorage