Vice President Kamala Harris had little to say Wednesday about her support for providing illegal immigrants with driver’s licenses, as well as “free” college tuition and health care on the taxpayers’ dime.

“When it comes to immigration, you supported allowing immigrants in the country illegally to apply for driver’s licenses, to qualify for free tuition at universities, to be enrolled in free health care,” Fox News’ Bret Baier said, pointing to Harris’ policies during her first presidential run in 2019.

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“Do you still support those things?”

“Listen, that was five years ago,” Harris said, “and I’m very clear that I will follow the law. I have made that statement over and over again, and as Vice President of the United States that’s exactly what I’ve done, not to mention before.”

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Baier put it another way.

“If that’s the case, you chose a running mate, Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, who signed those very things into state law,” he said. “So do you support that?”

Again, Harris refused to answer the question.

“We are very clear, and I am very clear, as is Tim Walz, that we must support and enforce federal law,” she said, “and that is exactly what we will do.”

In reality, identical legislation is ready and waiting in Michigan and other states to implement the proposals Harris touted before she suspended her first presidential campaign in December 2019.

Since February 2023, Michigan House bills 4410-4412 and Senate bills 265-267, known collective as the Drive SAFE bill package, have remained in committees with no movement.

Despite multiple press conferences and rallies in Lansing with key Democrats professing support, the Drive SAFE legislation to reverse a 2008 law that blocks illegal immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses has so far failed to gain traction.

In a recent interview with EL CENTRAL, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she expects the legislation to be a top legislative priority this fall, further expanding supports for folks she argues are “going to be absolutely essential as we think about the future.”

The Michigan League of Public Policy estimates the legislation, if passed and signed into law, could open the door to 55,000 more people obtaining driver’s licenses in the first three years after it’s approved.

“I do think that the drive safe bill is one that is working its way through the legislature,” Whitmer told EL CENTRAL. “It is really, I believe, crucial that people have the ability to access an identification from the state.

“And so this is something that as the legislature returns this fall, I anticipate it could be on the list of actions that they may take before the end of the year,” Whitmer said.

The driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants are one of several “really important” benefits Whitmer told NBC’s Meet the Press in August “should be part of any vision of the country.”

Meet the Press host Kristen Welker, like Baier, noted Walz “signed into law initiatives allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, qualify for free tuition at public universities, and enroll in the state’s free health care program for low income residents.”

When Welker asked Whitmer, “Would you like to see the Harris administration adopt these same policies, governor?” the governor responded: “We need to make sure that when people are in this country, that they have access to have some form of ID. That’s really important. The spirit of those things, I think, should be part of any vision of the country and our security and how we bring great people into this country legally.”

The Drive SAFE bills are one of many ways Whitmer and Democrats who control the Michigan Legislature are working to remake Michigan as “the state of choice for many newcomer populations,” an effort aimed at countering the state’s projected population decline.

Michigan Democrats have funded $500 per month “Newcomer Rental Subsidies” for “individuals with a pending asylum application,” despite strong objections from Republicans over lax eligibility requirements and exemptions, as well as data that shows 97% of “asylum seekers” in 2023 involved defensive asylum claims filed by illegal immigrants to avoid deportation.

Other spending last year included $738,000 to “support newcomer integration” through grants to “ethnic and community based organizations” that cater to immigrants.

A record $82.5 billion 2025 budget signed into law by Whitmer this summer provides an additional $1 million in legal aid to “asylum seekers,” and $6.4 million to expand some Medicaid services to certain immigrants, including “asylum seekers.”

About 41% of Michigan’s residents, meanwhile, are living paycheck to paycheck, unable to afford a “survival budget” that includes basics like housing, child care, food, transportation and health care, despite most working full-time.

Republicans attempted during this year’s budget debate to ensure tax dollars do not flow to folks in the country illegally, but Democratic majorities in both chambers blocked the proposals.

“This isn’t about politics; it’s about responsible governance,” said Rep. William Bruck, R-Erie. “Taxpayer dollars should be used to benefit legal residents of our state, not those who have entered the country unlawfully. That’s something we should all be able to agree on.”