Monday, October 13, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NEVADA DMV: Licensing law draws criticism

Hispanic activists say action by lawmakers discriminates against illegal immigrants

Idalia Marquez, 25, waits on Tuesday to take her driving test at the Carey Avenue office of the Department of Motor Vehicles in North Las Vegas. Photo by Clint Karlsen.

Hispanic activists in Las Vegas are criticizing as "anti-immigrant" new state laws that will make it more difficult for people from some states to obtain a Nevada driver's license.

Several legislators and proponents defend the new laws, saying they fulfill federal requirements of the Homeland Security Act and will prevent illegal aliens from becoming "de facto" citizens.

The Legislature in the past regular session approved Senate Bill 483 and Assembly Bill 441, permitting the Department of Motor Vehicles to refuse a driver's license to people who arrive from states with less stringent standards for issuing licenses.

The laws will go into effect in January, just as California is expected to implement its new law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain a driver's license.

Activists say the tougher standards in Nevada discriminate against illegal immigrants.

"If nothing else, there are more reasons to license illegal immigrants to drive than not to," said Miguel Barrientos, president of the Mexican-American Political Association of Las Vegas. "They're driving anyway. So, if they (lawmakers) want to tie these changes to reasons of national security, wouldn't it make sense to see this as a great opportunity to keep track of who's who?"

Allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver's license also would result in safer streets because they would have to learn the rules of the road and obtain car insurance, Barrientos said.

Activists also contend the new laws appear to contradict others passed this year.

Despite national security concerns, legislators approved use of Mexican government-issued cards, known as matriculas, as valid forms of identification for a range of activities in Nevada, including opening bank accounts.

Thomas Rodriguez, the author of several books on the Mexican immigrant's experience and executive manager for diversity and affirmative action at the Clark County School District, called the legislation hypocritical.

"Basically, they're saying, `Let them do our dirty work, but let's not really treat them like human beings or Americans,' " Rodriguez said.

Opponents of the matricula regarded as legislative victories the restriction on the document's use for obtaining a driver's license, and the passage of more stringent identification requirements.

"The reason the driver's license was the issue is because it allows you to have de facto citizenship," said Janine Hansen, president of the Nevada Eagle Forum. "There's nothing the state of Nevada can do about protecting the nation's borders, but we don't have to make it easier for illegals once they get here."

But Idalia Marquez, 25, who last week took her driving test at the DMV's Carey Avenue office in North Las Vegas, said Nevada should follow California's lead.

"Every state in the United States should be the same; it's one country and everyone should be treated equally, in California or in Nevada," said Marquez, who immigrated to California from Mexico 13 years ago and has been in Nevada two months.

Activists said they also are disturbed by the low-profile passage of Nevada's new licensing laws. They said politicians, several of whom won their seats after campaigning for the Hispanic vote, failed to represent or inform them on the matter.

"We're just convenient for election time when they pander to the community to get the vote, but when they decide things that will impact us, it's all done behind the scenes," said Malena Burnett, founder of a nonprofit immigration advocacy organization called Fair Treatment for Immigrants.

Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, who chaired the Assembly Committee on Transportation, said she did not want her support for the stricter licensing laws to be regarded as anti-immigrant.

"Approving use of the matricula was a big step for Nevada," said Chowning, who represents a heavily Hispanic district. But the state simply wasn't ready to license illegal immigrants to drive, she said.

"No one here was pushing for the matricula to be used as an ID for a driver's license," she said. "California will have to be the testing ground for that."

Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation, said his support for the legislation was based on national security. The system, he said, was susceptible to fraud and he had heard of too many cases in which people used aliases to get driver's licenses in the state, which he thought could render the state vulnerable to terrorist activity.

He also said he never heard any opposition to the bills.

"We felt that because the driver's license is a first step toward establishing residency in this state, and once you have it, a lot of things follow," Nolan said. "So, we have to be sure the person at the counter is who they say they are."

But Sen. Michael Schneider, D-Las Vegas, last week said he now has doubts that new laws will effectively deter terrorists, stop fraud or discourage illegal immigrants. He also said that in retrospect, the stricter licensing laws appear to contradict the spirit of the law that passed allowing broader use of the matricula.

"It's a conflict. I have great concern about it all," he said. "We were all acting pretty aggressively in helping with homeland security, all in the wake of 9-11. But this could be one of those cases where we let the pendulum swing too far. We'll have to sit and look at it to see if what we did was appropriate."

Nevada's new laws would allow the DMV to request additional proof of identity when presented with a license from a state determined to have more lax requirements, agency spokesman Kevin Malone said. He said the state is reviewing requirements in other states to determine which identification cards and driver's licenses it will recognize.

The new laws also would require expiration dates on driver's licenses to match those on temporary immigration visas and would add expiration dates to regular state-issued identification cards.

California's law, by contrast, would allow illegal immigrants to submit federal taxpayer numbers instead of Social Security numbers. It also lifts a requirement that applicants prove they are legal residents and allows them to submit documents such as the matricula to verify their identity.

Steve Haskins, a spokesman for California's Department of Motor Vehicles, said although the agency is still fine-tuning the regulations, the state probably will require more than one document for proof of identity. He said illegal immigrants, like other residents applying for the driver's license, also will be required to submit fingerprints and pass the written and vision tests.

Tyler Moran, a policy analyst from the National Immigration Law Center said that 39 states this year introduced a total of 118 bills regarding the issuance of driver's licenses and identification cards. She said 19 have passed, six of which made requirements more restrictive, and six of which were more expansive. The center classified the rest, including Nevada, as neutral.

"Their laws already eliminate people who aren't lawfully in the country from eligibility for the driver's license," she said. "They have a de facto lawful presence requirement in the type of documentation they require from foreign born applicants."