Thread: Bill would require proof of legal status for Md. driver's li

Bill would require proof of legal status for Md. driver's license
Originally published March 19, 2009


By Meg Tully
News-Post Staff







Should proof of legal immigration status be required to get a Maryland driver’s license?

Yes
No
Not sure








ANNAPOLIS -- A local state senator is trying for the third year in a row to require that Maryland drivers prove they are in the country legally.
Sen. David Brinkley, a Republican who represents Frederick and Carroll counties, testified before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Wednesday. He is one of three state lawmakers sponsoring such legislation this year.

The bill would require people to show proof of their immigration status before they could obtain a license. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia have such a requirement.

"We have to get Maryland to the place where our documents have integrity," Brinkley said.

Maryland Secretary of Transportation John Porcari also testified in support of the bill.

The measure could have an increased impact in Frederick County when combined with a local program to check the immigration status of anyone arrested in the county.

That was the concern of Walkersville resident Tony Naranjo, who testified at the hearing on behalf of two friends he met at church.

The couple have lived in the U.S. for 15 years, when they came to visit relatives and decided they wanted to raise a family in Frederick County. Naranjo declined to identify the couple for fear they would be deported. Naranjo said they paid a man $8,000 to help them obtain legal status, but later found out he was not a lawyer. The man took their money without doing the job he was paid to do.

He has since fled the country and is sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Naranjo said.

The couple own a business and are raising their children.

Without a driver's license, they fear their family will be split apart, Naranjo said. The Frederick County Sheriff's Office is working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check the immigration status of people who are detained, sometimes for traffic stops.

"(The couple) are not asking for a handout or charity like so many in their position have been pictured," Naranjo said in his testimony. "They are only asking for a helping hand in realizing the rest of their dreams."

The argument did not convince Brinkley, who said people should go through the legal process if they want to live in the country.

It is up to the federal government to develop policies and determine how people obtain legal status, he said.

"We're fed up with Maryland being a sanctuary state when it comes to these individuals."

John T. Kuo, administrator of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, said he thinks a legal presence requirement is important to prevent fraud.

He thinks many people in the country have obtained Maryland licenses illegally, but do not live in the state.

A toll-free number set up to grant licenses to noncitizens received 1 million calls from all over the country, particularly up and down the East Coast, he said.

Sen. Alex Mooney, a Republican who represents Frederick and Washington counties and sits on the Judicial Proceedings Committee, supports the requirement. He thinks a bill requiring legal presence will pass this year. But it may leave loopholes, depending on how regulations are written, he said.

"It'll probably pass, but the question is will the effect be what the supporters of the bill want to happen?"


http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sectio ... ryID=87883

Daily Poll

Should proof of legal immigration status be required to get a Maryland driver’s license?

Yes - 95%





No - 3%




Not sure - 1%




Total Votes: 88

As a legal immigrant and live in one of the states that requires proof of legality I wholeheartedly believe that those who have not followed the rules should not get the benefits.

I do feel for the people who are now frightened but at the same time laws are put in place to keep peace and stability in place.

welcome lindiloo
Very true about the legal aspects of driving with proper documentation. I thought Maryland was voting on that today?

Without a driver's license, they fear their family will be split apart, Naranjo said

If they did things the correct way ,they would not have any fears or worries. Do not put the blame on the American citizen because THEY broke the laws!

I am not the one that broke into their country!

Mar 19, 2009 3:50 pm US/Eastern
Md. Mulls Denying Licenses To Illegal Immigrants
ANNAPOLIS, Md.

In an online Spanish language chat room, people from all over the East Coast seek tips on how to get driver's licenses in Maryland even though they don't live there.

Businesses run classified ads in Spanish-language publications in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland urging "undocumented Hispanic friends" to take advantage of the opportunity to get Maryland ID without having to prove they're in the country legally.

In one case, Maryland motor vehicle officials say, 68 different people applying for licenses and IDs gave the same address for an 800-square-foot home in Baltimore.

Maryland is one of just four states -- and the only one east of the Mississippi -- where people don't have to prove they're legal U.S. residents to get driver's licenses. Some lawmakers are pushing to change that this year, arguing that Maryland's rules make it a target for fraud by undocumented people from all over the U.S. But advocates here and in other states with similar rules -- Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington -- argue that allowing illegal immigrants to get state-issued identification gives police broader
databases to use when investigating crimes and increases the rate
of auto insurance coverage.

"It makes the streets safer for all of us," said Delegate Jolene Ivey, a Democrat from Prince George's County who supports continued access to Maryland licenses for undocumented residents.

The problem, say officials with Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration, is that they've been overwhelmed with requests for identification appointments as other states have tightened requirements.

A Department of Legislative Services analysis assumed the state issued about 6,700 licenses and ID cards to illegal immigrants in 2008, but cautioned exact statistics are tough to nail down.

Between July 2007 and June 2008, the MVA issued roughly 508,000 new
licenses and 170,000 ID cards.

State Motor Vehicle Administration Chief John Kuo says the demand has outpaced the state's foreign-born population growth. A toll-free number to book license appointments for non-citizens received 1 million attempted calls from all over the country in its first day of operation last year. The state, which only has 5.6 million residents, now limits hot line access to people calling from Maryland.

"Because of Maryland's status nationally, the number of fraud attempts at Maryland MVA remains a serious challenge," state transportation officials said in written testimony in favor of changing the policy, noting fraud cases shot up 478 percent between 2003 and 2007.

Maryland Delegate Ron George, R-Anne Arundel, says the license policy is cheapening the value of a state ID for other residents.

Some states, such as Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma, now require extra proof of identification before they'll license people relocating from states that issue ID to illegal immigrants.

"It's not good," said George, who has twice tried and failed to get the legislature to require state officials to ensure license applicants are in the U.S. legally. "Our residents deserve licenses that are on an even playing field with other states."

George is trying again this year, this time with support from Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and other Democrats.

Advocates for maintaining the current policy, such as Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez and the immigrant advocacy group CASA of Maryland, have attempted to fight fraud on their own. In interviews with Spanish-language publications earlier this year, Gutierrez warned that some ID fraud is a felony.

More important, she told the paper El Comercio, fraud "closes doors for those who actually live in Maryland."

Kim Propeack, a spokeswoman for CASA, says her organization's research found that one of the cheaper firms charges a $150 fee to robocall license hot lines just to get license appointments.

State officials "know there are private companies that are selling appointments, selling in-state addresses, and they have done nothing to combat those companies," Propeack said.

She said scammers even approach customers waiting at Motor Vehicle Administration offices, soliciting them to sell Maryland addresses to people from other states.

Propeack said CASA has asked state officials to reach out to foreign-language media and to change its documents to inform people there is no reason to hire anyone to get a license. The group also discourages undocumented immigrants from other states from trying to get Maryland IDs.

"This is a right that has been fought for and obtained by people living in Maryland," Propeack said. "When people call us from other states and ask for information about Maryland licenses, we tell them to go lobby for the right in their home state."

http://wjz.com/local/maryland.licenses. ... 63356.html