Video resurfaces showing El-Sayed backing driver’s licenses for undocumented residents

A campaign interview from 2018 has emerged showing Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed supporting the issuance of driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, describing the lack of access as discriminatory. The clip has revived discussion about whether state IDs effectively act as national identification, a point emphasized by Hans von Spakovsky of Advancing American Freedom, who warned that licenses enable access to banking, housing and employment verification.

El-Sayed, now running for the U.S. Senate, declined to comment on whether providing such licenses would constitute tacit approval of illegal residency. His campaign also did not address the broader implications for government services to non-residents. The candidate will compete against Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s primary, a race that could shape the state’s stance on immigration-related policies. The episode underscores ongoing partisan debates over how state governments should interact with undocumented populations.