More immigrants getting driver's licenses in three states

More (illegal) immigrants getting driver's licenses in three states

Tim Korte and Manuel Valdes
Associated Press
August 14, 2010

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 (illegal) immigrants seeking IDs in recent months, a trend experts attribute to crackdowns on illegal immigration in Arizona and elsewhere.

"It's difficult being undocumented (illegal) 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 (illegal) 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 (illegal) immigrants in states such as Arizona and Oklahoma, where police have been authorized to help enforce federal (illegal) 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.

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 nonimmigrants during the same period increased only modestly.

Three states' stats

• New Mexico issued 10,257 licenses to immigrants through June, compared with 13,481 for all of 2009. The figures include 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 a 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