Wall Street Journal
By Dan Frosch
July 30, 2014
DENVER—A
law granting driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants is set to
take effect Friday in Colorado, but the state is facing challenges as it
seeks to handle a
wave of applicants.
Other
states with large immigrant populations, such as California and
Illinois, also are dealing with complications and high demands as they
implement similar laws.
In
Colorado, the motor-vehicle division's scheduling website was
overwhelmed in early July after it started setting up appointments for
undocumented immigrants, and shut
down several times.
There
is a three-month wait to get an appointment with the Driver Services
Department in Illinois, which began issuing licenses to undocumented
immigrants last December,
as tens of thousands of people have tried to apply.
And
an estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in California are
expected to seek special driver's licenses beginning in January.
Officials have been working on
a new document design since the federal government rejected the state's
initial effort because it was too similar to a traditional driver's
license.
Eleven
states and Washington, D.C., have laws permitting undocumented
immigrants to get some sort of special driver's license or permit, said
the National Conference of
State Legislatures. Individuals who can't show that they are in the
U.S. lawfully typically are required to provide proof of state
residency, tax returns or other identification to qualify for licenses.
But in larger, more populous states, where substantial
numbers of immigrants may be eligible, the new regulations are proving
tricky to roll out.
In
Colorado, the state is only offering appointments to apply for the
licenses at five of 37 motor vehicle division offices. While immigrant
advocates praised the new
law, they raised concerns that some living in rural areas would have to
drive hours to reach the nearest office.
"Some
people are frustrated because they don't understand why the state
government would want them to drive without a license over highways and
mountain passes, essentially
endangering themselves and other people if there were an accident,"
said Nicole Mosher, executive director of Compañeros, which provides
resources to immigrants in southwestern Colorado.
Daria
Serna, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Revenue, which
oversees the licensing program, said lawmakers had intended it to be
funded through license fees.
Department officials said Wednesday they couldn't expand the resources
it has devoted to the program without potentially raising the costs for
applicants.
"Some
people maybe expected us to license everyone in the first 30 days," she
said. "If we need to go back and ask for more resources, then we will
do that."
Illinois
officials and immigrant advocates said they were encouraged by the huge
interest in the licenses in that state, though it caused a lengthy lag
time.
"We are encouraging people to be patient," said Dave Druker a spokesman for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
California's
motor vehicle department has held four public hearings in recent weeks
in Los Angeles and Oakland as it prepares to complete its licensing
regulations. Immigrant
rights groups were urging state officials to expand the list of
identifying documents that could be submitted by applicants.
State
officials said they were continuing to work with the Department of
Homeland Security to devise a license design that was distinguishable
from its regular license
in accordance with a federal law known as the Real ID Act.
Corrections & Amplifications
Colorado's
the state motor vehicle division's scheduling website was overwhelmed
with traffic in early July. An earlier version of this article reported
it was overwhelmed
in early June.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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