http://southflorida.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-immigration-mayocol-b050810-20100507,0,7845754.column
No matter how you feel about illegal immigration, and no matter how much we want to protect ourselves from terrorism, the hellish bureaucratic scenes now unfolding at DMV offices across South Florida serve as a reminder: Be careful what you wish for.
Outside the Fort Lauderdale branch of the Department of Motor Vehicles on Thursday, I found a hot and bothered group snaked in line around a dismal strip mall. They clutched birth certificates, passports, citizenship diplomas, Social Security cards, paystubs, FPL bills, phone bills and bank statements.
All to get a driver's license.
"This is my fifth trip," said Rita Miller, whose purse was stolen last month.
"There's still going to be illegal immigrants and terrorists," said Scott Salberg. "They're just not going to come here to get a driver's license."
Said Paul Sendles, a British expatriate with a U.S. green card: "What's next? Are we going to have to give fingerprints to get a license?"
Many Floridians have been caught off-guard by a new law with strict documentation requirements that went into effect Jan. 1.
If you want to get a driver's license — including renewals and replacements for lost and stolen licenses — you pretty much have to show up in person at a DMV office and bring everything but your first born.
