Immigration is a hot topic this year in the U.S. because of several recent legal decisions. To begin, an article in the Boston Globe (1/27/2012) stated, “New Mexico and Washington (State) are the only states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain the same driver’s license as a US citizen. Utah grants immigrants a driving permit that cannot be used for identification, unlike a driver’s license, which can help people open bank accounts, make financial transactions, and board a commercial airline.” New Mexico’s House of Representatives once again voted to repeal the state law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain New Mexico driver’s licenses according to a Santa Fe New Mexican.com (2/8/2012) article. Governor Susana Martinez’s spokesman, Scott Darnell, is quoted as saying “Only two states in the country offer a driver’s license to illegal immigrants, and this has generated an industry of fraud, trafficking, and organized crime in New Mexico, as people from all throughout the world have come to our state for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining our government-issued ID and leaving the state - to places, and for purposes, that are unknown.” Although supporters of the current policy believe the state does not need a repeal of this law in order to deal with potential fraud, noting that driver’s licenses are vital to the immigrant community as well as a public safety issue. “It is important the state is enforcing the law,” said Allen Sanchez, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops. “When the law is enforced, the law works.’’
In states where undocumented immigrants can get a driver’s license, it makes the state a magnet for illegal immigrants, thus igniting debate in the upcoming Washington State’s attorney general election. In a June 16, 2012, KUOW News story, Washington State has tightened its rules as of two years ago requiring verification of proof of residency from driver’s license applicants. Both candidates agree that Utah’s model is a good one when examining its Driving Privilege Card option. This card authorizes non-citizens to drive a vehicle, but the card cannot be used as government–issued ID. Utah’s lawmakers recently added criminal background checks and fingerprints as well as proof of residency and a tax number as a requirement.
A June survey by the Pew Hispanic Center states” 58% of American adults say they approve of the 2010 Arizona law, while 38% say they disapprove.” In a previous article on Free Legal Aid entitled, The Supreme Court Steps Into the Illegal Immigration Debate explains the beginning of The Court’s legal review of the controversial Arizona’s immigration law. As of June 25, 2012, The Supreme Court’s Arizona v. United States decision, removed three of the four provisions from the Arizona’s immigration law; however, keeping the part that allows police officers to check the immigration status of individuals whom they have stopped and whom they have reasonable suspicion of being in the U.S. illegally. Hispanics sharply disapprove of the Arizona law at 75% disapproval, according to the same Pew Research survey.
When President Obama, through an executive order, initiated a broad policy change that cleared the way for young illegal immigrants to work legally and obtain driver’s licenses and other documents, the Department of Homeland Security will use this new criteria as a defined below, thus giving a lower priority when determining which illegal immigrants are subject to deportation:
- “came to the United States under the age of sixteen;
- has continuously resided in the United States for a least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and is present in the United States on the date of this memorandum;
- is currently in school, has graduated from high school, has obtained a general education development certificate, or is an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;
- has not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise poses a threat to national security or public safety; and
- is not above the age of thirty. “
“They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper”, said President Obama according to The New York Times when he announced this policy change on June 15, 2012. Recently, in places like Los Angeles, where the police chief advocates driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants and in the interest of public safety for all citizens; similar voices are being echoed in Colorado and Oregon as well.
Susanne L Woodford, Freelance Writer