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August 14, 2010 in Nation/World
Loose license laws a draw
States show surge in immigrants seeking driver’s licenses
BURIEN, Wash. – Carlos Hernandez packed up his family and left Arizona after the state passed its sweeping immigration crackdown. The illegal immigrant’s new home outside Seattle offered something Arizona could not: a driver’s license.
Three states – Washington, New Mexico and Utah – allow illegal immigrants to get licenses because their laws do not require proof of citizenship or legal residency. An Associated Press analysis found that those states have seen a surge in immigrants seeking IDs in recent months, a trend experts attribute to crackdowns on illegal immigration in Arizona and elsewhere.
“It’s difficult being undocumented and not having an identification,” said Hernandez, of Puebla, Mexico. “You can use the Mexican ID, but people look down on it.” An American driver’s license is also a requirement for many jobs.
The immigration debate has thrown a spotlight on the license programs, which supporters say make financial sense because unlicensed drivers typically do not carry car insurance. Opponents insist the laws attract illegal immigrants and criminals.
“Washington state and New Mexico have been magnet states for the fraudulent document brokers, human traffickers and alien smugglers for years,” said Brian Zimmer, president of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License, a nonprofit research group in Washington, D.C.
State officials in New Mexico dispute that claim.
Zimmer said there is mounting evidence that the spike in license applications is a result of pressure on immigrants in states such as Arizona and Oklahoma, where police have been authorized to help enforce federal immigration laws.
Republican lawmakers in New Mexico and Washington state have pushed to tighten the laws in recent years, only to be thwarted by Democrats. The issue is less heated in Utah, where illegal immigrant licenses carry only driving privileges. People cannot use the IDs to board a plane, get a job or buy alcohol, for example.
Candidates in New Mexico’s governor’s race have made the licenses a campaign theme, with the Republican saying she would revoke IDs granted to illegal and legal immigrants since the state enacted the law in 2003. The Democratic candidate opposes illegal immigrant licenses but prefers a softer approach.
The AP analysis of data in the three states revealed some striking numbers: The rate of licenses issued to immigrants during the 10 weeks that followed approval of the Arizona law reflected a 60 percent increase over the annual average for last year.
By comparison, the rate of licenses issued to non-immigrants during the same period increased only modestly.
Among the other findings:
• New Mexico issued 10,257 licenses to immigrants through the first six months of 2010, compared with 13,481 for all of 2009. The pace has intensified since April, when neighboring Arizona passed its immigration law. The figures include both illegal immigrants and legal residents from outside the U.S.
• New Mexico issued about 417 licenses a week to immigrants from the day after Arizona passed its law through July 1. That is a big jump from the 323 per week it was issuing from Jan. 1 to the day before the law passed.
• Utah handed out 41,000 illegal immigrant licenses for 2010 through June 7, compared with 43,429 for all of 2008.
• Washington granted 3,200 licenses to people from outside the U.S. through June, exceeding the pace of 5,992 for all of 2009.
Hernandez said he and his family moved to Washington because he and his wife were spooked by the Arizona law that requires officers to check a person’s immigration status when enforcing other laws. A federal judge has put most of the law on hold, saying it may be unconstitutional.
Hernandez said he knows other illegal immigrants who considered New Mexico because of the ease of getting a license without documents. But he and others thought Washington would be safer.
“I know that it’s not OK for people who come here to cross the border, but there’s people that come here that want to contribute … that want to follow the rules,” said Hernandez, 31, who has a 2-year-old daughter.
Recent fraud cases in New Mexico and Washington show some people are trying to exploit the rules.
An Illinois man is accused of driving two Polish immigrants from Chicago to Albuquerque last month in a scheme to charge them $1,000 each for help getting driver’s licenses, according to a criminal complaint.
In Washington, the FBI was tipped that people from across the country were coming to the state because of its license law. Three people, including one current and one former state Licensing Department employee, were arrested in June in a case dealing with the sale of identification documents to illegal immigrants.
“We don’t think we’re asking for much,” said Rep. Tom Campbell, sponsor of a bill last year in Washington seeking to require proof of citizenship to get a license. “We have to have a handle of who’s in our state.”
In New Mexico, Motor Vehicle Division Director Michael Sandoval cautioned that it’s impossible to identify any specific cause-and-effect linking the Arizona law to illegal immigrants relocating in New Mexico because of the way the licenses are issued.
The state does not require clerks to document where immigrants moved from. And clerks cannot ask if someone is in the country illegally.
As a result, there’s no way to distinguish between a license issued to a Swiss chemist employed with a visa at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a license assigned to a Mexican laborer in the U.S. illegally.
Washington state immigrant advocate David Ayala said it’s better for drivers to have licenses, especially from a public safety standpoint.
“The people who are driving in the streets need to be tested that they have the knowledge and ability to be on the highway,” said Ayala, organizing director of a group called OneAmerica.
People with licenses, he added, “have a more normal life. They can cash a check. They can rent an apartment. They can have insurance for the car.”
© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Ancient Roman wrecks found in deep water 
ZagChuck on August 14 at 4:28 a.m.
Who’s checking the DMV’s “motor-voter” roles, to insure all of the illegal aliens are not also illegal voters?
We already know that many underage voters who were registered at the DMV illegally participated in the last election.
Ninch on August 14 at 8:17 a.m.
Hawaii also does not require those seeking driver licenses to be citizens, or even residents.
IF the clerks are following the rules, it is very difficult if not impossible to get a Washington driver’s license without proving residency… so I cannot see people coming to Washington to get an “easy” driver’s license and return to another state. I know this because having always lived in Washington State since birth and having a driver’s license for over 40 years as well as residing in the same house for over 15 years, I was made to jump through numerous hoops to prove my residency. This happens to everyone who does not have mail delivered to their physical address (i.e. people with PO boxes or Rural Route numbers and the USPS database does not show a physical mailing address). In fact, if you live in a residence in which you do not pay (have your name on) a utility bill then it is extremely difficult to prove residency.
Bottom line, it is hard to believe that Washington State is a magnet for out-of-state driver license schemes except for those who worked for DOL and broke the law… and they did get caught.
Ninch on August 14 at 8:20 a.m.
NOTE: Washington State now has a very good system in place to verify voter registrations. Go to the Secretary of State’s website where it is all explained. BTW: Our Secretary of State is a Republican if that makes any difference.
greyhound2 on August 14 at 8:34 a.m.
The major cost of illegal immigrantion is on the social safety net of welfare, healthcare and education. While employers can profit from substandard wages, no benefits and no worker protection, the cost to property owners to make up the difference is substantial. It is the county and state property owners who end up subsidizing businesses who hire illegal workers.
misjustice on August 14 at 9:55 a.m.
Knowing a person is illegal & aiding & abetting them should get the helper put in jail also. ((abetting: present participle of a·bet (Verb)
1. Encourage or assist (someone) to do something wrong, in particular, to commit a crime or other offense. 2. Encourage or assist someone to commit (a crime).))
Why would anyone not come to this country illegally? Our own government helps them break the law & until the American people stand up & say enough is enough, it will continue to happen. With O-Blame-A in office, it seems to get worse instead of better.
mdriftmeyer on August 14 at 3:24 p.m.
@ZagChuck:
“Who’s checking the DMV’s “motor-voter” roles, to insure all of the illegal aliens are not also illegal voters?
We already know that many underage voters who were registered at the DMV illegally participated in the last election. ”
By the voter distribution in the agricultural zones and the GOP’s exploitation of cheap labor it seems rather clear that those highly Republican districts don’t have to worry about going blue.
Seriously, if you’re going to insinuate a large portion of the state’s blue heavy vote is due to illegal immigrants I’d like to pose we have a requirements exam to even qualify for voting. You wouldn’t like it as most of the GOP would fail the exam, even more than the DNC members.
Perhaps that could be a wake up call for all the luddites who fear progress and can’t seem to get their kids [approx 33% on a national average] to graduate high school and actually know the capital of the United States of America. I’d imagine the same percentage believes Puerto Rico is a US state and thus making it unfair to the GOP who can’t seem to get them to vote in droves for their policies.
mdriftmeyer on August 14 at 3:28 p.m.
@Gramma: “Knowing a person is illegal & aiding & abetting them should get the helper put in jail also. ((abetting: present participle of a·bet (Verb)
1. Encourage or assist (someone) to do something wrong, in particular, to commit a crime or other offense. 2. Encourage or assist someone to commit (a crime).))
Why would anyone not come to this country illegally? Our own government helps them break the law & until the American people stand up & say enough is enough, it will continue to happen. With O-Blame-A in office, it seems to get worse instead of better.”
Your lack of history betrays you well. Reagan gave amnesty to the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants under his two terms. Bush 2.0 continued the same pattern as as Bush 1.0.
The Food Industry doesn’t want to have them recognized with tax codes as that will gouge their profits. The fact they clone dead cattle to then inject steroids to fatten up crappy beef [whatever happened to the cattle drives and the Calgary Stampede? Oh yea! Landowners ended that intelligent approach to raising cattle] should tell you that your absurd fear of the first Mulatto US President continues to polarize your sense of reason.
west on August 14 at 8:34 p.m.
Well..driver lic has ID, picture, address etc..everything needed when the roundup starts…
ZagChuck on August 14 at 10:22 p.m.
@ mdriftmeyer
Your false portrayal of my position is common from liberals. If you’d rather not address the issue, change the topic with a false premise, and then attack the false premise. Your efforts here were poor, but I’ll address them anyway.
First I did not ever “insinuate a large portion of the state’s blue heavy vote is due to illegal immigrants” I stated quite clearly that the state has a duty to verify immigration status prior to voter registration just as they have a duty to verify age prior to doing so. The state has clearly shown it is not verifying age; therefore it is extremely likely they are not verifying immigration status.
Second, it’s always funny when liberals threaten the “testing” of the electorate prior to voting. 1st that practice is illegal, and was used to prevent blacks from voting in the south. Hardly a practice I’d endorse.
Finally, it’s always funny for those on the left to criticize the failure rate of children in schools as a reason for poor voting practices. It’s even funnier to blame it on the rural school districts where graduation rates are higher, as you have done so here.
The state of Washington has had super majorities in both houses for the last 6 years, and has controlled the house, senate and governor’s mansion for the last 30 or so years with very little interruption. All of the leadership at the WA OSPI is supported heavily by the left, and the WEA continues to support the liberals. Why is that? Because the liberals keep throwing money at the problem, rather than addressing the problem. The failed education system continues to suck up more taxpayer money each year and has made little if any improvements in the last decade, yet according to you, it’ snot the liberals fault. Go figure.
In short, your little rant has shown itself to be based upon a false premise, and laughably illogical. But it was a nice try.