There are two ways to look at the recent push by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton to grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

The first is to say absolutely not. Illegal immigrants, after all, are here illegally. They’re not supposed to be living in the U.S. They shouldn’t be able to buy and register automobiles. Employers aren’t supposed to hire them, so they shouldn’t have jobs that they need a car to drive to each day. And so on.

Giving illegal immigrants driver’s licenses also sends the message that, yes, we will accept you in our society even if you’ve broken our laws to get here and live here in violation of those laws. We certainly can’t pretend to be discouraging illegal immigration if we take measures to accommodate those living here illegally.