Monday, May 16, 2005
Bills target driver's license rules for immigrants
By MARK PETERS, Portland Press Herald Writer
Two bills proposed in the Maine legislature target drivers' license rules for immigrants. One would make it illegal for illegal immigrants to obtain a license. Another would tie the expiration date of licenses to the expiration dates of visas. Proponents of the bills say they are needed to help prevent terrorists from operating in the country. Opponents say the bills will do little to stop terrorists within our borders. Do you think targeting drivers' license rules for immigrants is an effective way to prevent terrorism?
Yes: 69.16%
No: 30.84%
Total Votes: 629
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The survey questions are created daily by the MaineToday.com staff. If you have questions, comments or suggestions about the online survey, you can e-mail us or call MaineToday.com editor Scott Hersey at (207) 822-4061.
This survey is not scientific. The results are a snapshot of what readers who choose to take the survey are thinking. It is designed to allow readers to interact with the news of the day, and is not intended to be used for reference purposes.
The survey questions are created daily by the MaineToday.com staff. If you have questions, comments or suggestions about the online survey, you can e-mail us or call MaineToday.com editor Scott Hersey at (207) 822-4061.
See the results of past questions from the past seven days and find out about how the survey works, check Previous Days' Questions.
AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers have joined Congress and a number of other states in the debate over whether illegal immigrants should have access to drivers' licenses. Two bills proposed in the Maine Legislature could change how the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles issues a license. One would put into law that an illegal immigrant cannot get a license. The other would tie the expiration date of a license to the expiration date of a visa.
Lawmakers in states from New Hampshire to Montana are debating similar measures. Congress also has gotten involved. It has approved new rules, known as the REAL ID Act, for how states issue drivers' licenses.
The changes reflect an ongoing debate over the nation's immigration laws that stems from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. Supporters say the license changes are needed to help prevent terrorists from operating in this country. Opponents, however, say the measures would do little to prevent homegrown terrorists.
In Maine, state law does not forbid an illegal immigrant from getting a driver's license, but information required to apply for a license does, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap says.
The Bureau of Motor Vehicles requires people who apply for a license to have a Social Security number or to show documentation for why they don't.
Some state lawmakers in Maine want to go further and put into law a prohibition against illegal immigrants getting licenses. They point to the Sept. 11 attacks and the costs of dealing with illegal immigration.
The legislators see stricter rules helping in two ways. They can prevent terrorists from getting valid identification and keep illegal immigrants from using licenses to get various government benefits.
State Rep. Ronald Collins, R-Wells, is pushing for changes in Maine's law because he says a license is more than just a card that allows someone to drive. A person now must show a driver's license to get on a plane or enter a building.
"In today's society, a driver's license is a national ID," Collins said.
Collins has proposed a bill forbidding illegal immigrants from getting licenses. It also requires licenses issued to non-U.S. citizens to expire on the same day that their permission to be in the country expires.
State Rep. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Waterboro, has proposed a similar bill. It also requires someone to show proof of U.S. citizenship when getting a driver's license. If someone fails to do this, a state worker would report the person to federal immigration officials.
Opponents of the bills in Maine and other states say stricter rules do not necessarily mean greater protection against terrorism. They say requiring citizenship for a license does not protect against homegrown terrorists or fake licenses.
Opponents believe stricter rules would create an additional public safety problem. They say many illegal immigrants will drive with or without a license. That means unlicensed motorists would be driving without going through a road test or getting insurance.
Beth Stickney, executive director of the Portland-based Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, says the law also would force state motor vehicle workers to suddenly become immigration workers and check people's status in this country.
"There has been a slew of bills we can say are anti-immigrant in Augusta this year, and it is a relatively new thing" in Maine, Stickney said.
Matt Sundeen, who tracks motor vehicle legislation for the National Conference of State Legislatures, says that immigration and drivers' licenses is a perennial issue in many states. And concerns over terrorism became part of the debate after Sept. 11 increased lawmakers' interest in the subject.
But even as states debate this issue, the biggest changes to the rules for drivers' licenses are likely to come from the federal government. The U.S. Senate gave final approval last week to a military spending bill that includes the REAL ID Act. This act, which already has House approval, would create new rules on how states issue licenses.
Dunlap says the new rules would require states to confirm the authenticity of documents used to issue licenses. They also would require Maine to make major changes in its computer database, adding a license holder's immigration status.
"It would require significant changes in the way we do business," Dunlap said.
Approval of REAL ID, and the anticipated fight by states against it, is causing the Maine Legislature to back away this spring from changing how the Bureau of Motor Vehicles issues licenses.
"I think what we really should do is keep the status quo at this point and see what the federal government hands us," said state Rep. Boyd Marley, D-Portland, co-chairman of the Legislature's Transportation Committee.
That means Collins' bill won't be taken up until next year and Jacobsen's bill has been amended. The Jacobsen bill now would just take the rules the bureau now follows and put them into law.
And it is questionable if even the amended bill will pass the full Legislature. The Transportation Committee by a one-vote margin recommended that the full House and Senate reject it.
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at 623-1031 or at:
mpeters@pressherald.com © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.