Thread: Cost to Texas for blocking driver's license rule is $23,000

Cost to Texas for blocking driver's license rule is $23,000
By Brandi Grissom
Posted: 03/27/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT


AUSTIN -- It would cost the state about $23,000 to halt a new driver's license rule that critics claim is illegal and encourages racial profiling, lawyers for the state said in court Thursday.
The day before, an assistant attorney general had said changing the rule would be so disruptive that it would shut down driver's license offices across Texas.

State District Court Judge Orlinda Naranjo said she would decide in April whether to order a stop to the Texas Department of Public Safety policy meant to prevent undocumented immigrants from getting driver's licenses.

The rule, adopted in October, has had adverse consequences for legal immigrants. People whose visas expire in fewer than six months have been denied licenses to drive and identification cards.

Under another facet of the policy, different-looking licenses are issued to non citizens who are in the country legally.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund sued the DPS in January, alleging that it exceeded its authority in implementing the license policies.

Only lawmakers, MALDEF argued, have the power to decide whether to restrict the availability of driver's licenses based on immigration status.

They asked the judge to issue an injunction, stopping the DPS from implementing the policy until the court could hear additional evidence and render a final decision.

"The Legislature did not intend for the agency to invade this area," MALDEF lawyer David Hinojosa told the judge.


Attorneys for state had initially argued in a legal brief that stopping the new license rule could shut down DPS' entire driver's license operation.
But Robert Burroughs, assistant chief of the license division, testified that halting enforcement of the rule would cost $23,600 in computer program changes and would require some retraining of staff.

Ending the rule, he said, would not be simple, but "that would not, in and of itself, shut down the department."

Burroughs said DPS officials imposed the rule in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and a federal investigation in 2006 that found a Dallas man had helped foreign nationals who lived in other states and whose visas had expired to get Texas licenses.

The department, he said, decided to tighten its identification requirements.

Many foreigners, Burroughs said, can legally drive in Texas for up to a year using licenses from their home countries.

When the department has made errors in not granting licenses to people who are eligible, Burroughs said, the DPS has made efforts to fix those mistakes.

Shelley Dahlberg, an assistant attorney general who represented the DPS, told the judge that Texas laws give the DPS broad authority to adopt rules that help ensure that driver's license applicants are who they claim to be.

"Those licenses are used routinely for identification purposes," Dahlberg said. "A driver's license is not just a license to operate a vehicle, not anymore."

Though Naranjo did not issue a ruling Thursday, she expressed concerns about whether DPS had indeed overstepped its authority.

"It seems to have been very restrictive and kind of arbitrary and capricious," Naranjo said.

The rule, she said, seemed out of keeping with the law, which requires driver's license applicants to prove their identity, not their immigration status.

"Aren't those, again, types of restrictions and limitations something the Legislature should do and not the agency through rule-making?" Naranjo asked.

The judge also questioned whether the DPS properly followed rule-making guidelines when it did not seek public comment on changing the appearance of licenses for noncitizens, which are now vertically oriented and stamped "temporary visitor."

"We want input from the public. We want an open government that opens up and gets input from the affected individuals," she said.

But Dahlberg argued that the new rule was not in conflict with the law, and that DPS was not required to seek public comment on every change it made.

"If every single action were considered a rule, an agency couldn't carry out its functions," she said.

Naranjo said she hoped to reach a decision on the temporary injunction by April 10.

The MALDEF case is one of two lawsuits filed against DPS over the driver's license policy. The Texas Civil Rights Project has filed a case in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the policy.

State legislators have also taken up the issue. Demo crats in the House and Senate have filed measures that would undo the DPS rule. Two House Republicans have submitted a proposal that would make the new rule state law.

Brandi Grissom may be reached at bgrissom@elpasotimes.com



http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_12007510

The people have spoken though our elected representatives, yet special interest groups like The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and MALDEF continue to waste taxpayers' money by trying to force their agendas on the majority. I am fed up with this!

Oh please just E-Verify, check out documents, and code the temporary visitors like under 21 years of age, and daytime driving.

The Texas public continues to suffer because of illegals driving,hit and runs, DUI's and running to Mexico to avoid prosecution. I continue to be amazed at the American governments lack of will to fight the special interest groups and once again stand up for our country.

In 2007, Judge Orlinda Naranjo contributed $250 to RICHARDSON FOR PRESIDENT INC. - Democrat.

More information on Ms. Naranjo:

http://www.txdirectory.com/online/perso ... fice=22686

I don't normally like to play the stereotype game but seldom do I expect an Hispanic liberal to decide in favor of 'we the people' on immigration issues.