Shepherd speaks on undocumented drivers

Near the end of Tuesday’s Town Board work session, Councilman Paul Shepherd said he’d heard a story from a resident whose niece, up-island, was “run over in the street by an unlicensed driver” and killed.

“It was likely a Latino,” Mr. Shepherd said.

He’s been speaking with Police Chief Jim Read about the issue, he said, adding that “there’s an epidemic of unlicensed operation of motor vehicles going on” driven “almost invariably by illegals.”

Mr. Shepherd asked Supervisor Jim Dougherty if he would consult with his colleagues on the East End Supervisors and Mayors Association, which Mr. Dougherty chairs, to draft a letter to state officials asking for action.

After the meeting, Mr. Shepherd told the Reporter that the accident victim he’d cited “may in fact not be linked to an illegal alien [driver]. He may just have had a Spanish name and driving without a license.”

Asked if he was in favor of the state granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, Mr. Shepherd said he didn’t have a fix on any solutions, but it’s something that shouldn’t be ignored.

“If they’re not going to stop them from driving, then it seems logical to regulate them driving, the way they do the rest of us,” he said. “I was just this afternoon hoping out loud that our voices out here could be made audible on high.”