Rules for Delaware immigrant driving card debated

Karl Baker, The News Journal 12:24 a.m. EDT July 15, 2015

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(Photo: GARY EMEIGH/THE NEWS JOURNAL)

The debate over whether to give illegal immigrants a lawful way to drive in Delaware has not ended with the creation of new state-issued "privilege cards." Controversy over a requirement to submit fingerprints is expected to continue into June, when a legislative task force will reconvene to investigate possible changes.

"As a protector, I'm not going to relax when we meet next year," said Darlene Battle, executive director of Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement, a Wilmington group that helps immigrants.

Battle was part of a legislative task force formed last year to investigate the possibility of extending driving privileges to people in the country illegally. The group included officials from Gov. Jack Markell's office, the Delaware Police Chiefs' Council, Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, Latin American Community Center and Mid-Atlantic Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The panel in a 94-page report issued in December said that many undocumented immigrants in Delaware are already driving, and a special identification would help them get insurance and improve road safety.

Delaware had about 20,000 undocumented people in 2012, according to a Pew Research Center study released last year.

Lawmakers in the final marathon day of the legislative session June 30 approved the new cards, which will start being issued Jan. 1. The bill included several key provisions hammered out by the task force, including requirements for applicants to provide two years of state income tax returns and submit fingerprints to the state police for a state background check only. Both measures were intended to prevent people from falsely applying under someone else's name. Cards also will be marked "Not Valid for Identification."

The bill also had an amendment that calls for reconvening the task force in June to review the program and determine whether any changes should be recommended.

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Should illegal immigrants applying for a Delaware driving card be fingerprinted?

Thank you for voting!

Yes 87.95% (591 votes)

No 12.05% (81 votes)

Total Votes: 672
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State Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, who sponsored the legislation and was co-chairman of the panel, said the final legislation was part of compromises between immigrant groups and law enforcement. He said the fingerprint requirement was needed to get the new system in place.

"We were trying to strike a very delicate balance between making roads safer and protecting against fraud," Townsend said.

His sense, however, is that being fingerprinted will actually cause fewer people to apply. Immigrants might suspect that the information will be forwarded to the federal government, although no system is in place. The state Division of Motor Vehicles is prohibited from sharing fingerprint database with agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"It chills participation in a program that wouldn't have existed without it," Townsend said.

The fingerprint issue is a concern for Matilde Bayona of Newark, who came from the Mexican state of Campeche to the United States illegally about nine years ago. The mother of three, who works at McDonald's, said she plans to apply for the driving privilege card in January despite being fearful that her fingerprints could end up in a database accessed by the immigration authorities.

"The bus is good, but it's very slow to get to work or to go to other places, like the store or school," said Bayona, in Spanish, on Saturday.

Buy PhotoMatilde Bayona sits with her son in Newark on Saturday. Bayona, a Mexico native who is in the United States illegally, plans to apply for a new driver’s license for undocumented immigrants in Delaware, despite concerns that her fingerprints could be forwarded to authorities. (Photo: KARL BAKER/THE NEWS JOURNAL)


When she arrived in Delaware, her in-laws told her she must learn how to drive in order to work, Bayona said. The driving card is a way for immigrants to both drive legally and to advance their status in society, she said.

"You always have to take a risk in order to advance. There always will be something negative or positive that goes along with it," she said.

But opponents of the cards, such as Karen Gritton, executive director of the tea party-affiliated 912 Delaware Patriots group, said the state is giving individuals an incentive to come to the United States illegally. The cards encourage not following the legal process, she said.

"Little has been done to close our borders," she said.

State Sen. Colin Bonini, R-Dover, said the cards encourage potential immigrants who are waiting for a government-issued visa to bypass that process entirely. He questions whether road safety will be improved and worries the cards will be used to apply for social service programs.



DELAWAREONLINE
Panel: Allow undocumented immigrants to drive


Bonini, who also is running for governor, said he expects lawmakers who supported the measure will feel pressure from voters in the next election. He cast the only no vote in the Senate, where the measure passed 17 to 1. The bill passed on a 22-to-15 vote in the House.

"I would not be surprised if there are political consequences in the next election," Bonini said.

The program will cost $317,652 to start and $112,652 in annual costs, according to state estimates. Bonini in a speech on the Senate floor said the state is "asking Delaware taxpayers to pay half a million dollars for services for illegal immigrants."

Townsend said the program will benefit the entire Delaware community because roads will be safer as more motorists pass a state driving test and can apply for insurance. Washington, D.C., and 11 states, including Maryland, offer illegal immigrants a driving card.

Since the passage, the Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement announced plans to offer driving classes. Battle expects about 400 to complete the courses.

She also plans to push for the fingerprint rule to be dropped when the task force meets again in 11 months. Immigrants, Battle said, are a vital part of the state.

"Folks are here, undocumented or whatever, and they're contributing economically," he said.

Townsend also said it's worth exploring the requirement that applicants live in the state for two years. He wonders whether the rule will discourage undocumented professionals from moving to a job in Delaware if they'll have no way to legally drive.

"Maybe we'll revisit that rule," he said.

He said the state is prohibited from sharing fingerprints with federal authorities as long as those prints do not match ones found in an outstanding state crime. Delaware license photos are stored in a database that can be accessed by the FBI's facial recognition software. A photo from an FBI investigation can be crosschecked with the state DMV database, in order to determine the identity of an individual.

DMV Director Scott Vien said the photos from the new driving privilege cards will be added to that database. There is little risk, however, that immigrant fingerprints will end up in the hands of immigration officials.

"To my knowledge, in other states, there hasn't been any [DMV] probe by immigration authorities," he said.

It's unclear how many illegal immigrants will take part, and the task force in June will look at enrollment statistics, said Sen. Robert Marshall, D-Wilmington, who sits on the panel and introduced the amendment to reconvene later in the year.

"In the event that there is some lack of participation come June, we'll revisit [the provisions]," he said.

Bayona said she's not being discouraged. She'll be one of the people signing up come next year, she said.

"In my more than nine years here, I've always been working, I pay taxes, I don't hurt anyone," Bayona said. "I feel like I'm part of the community of the state."

Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.

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