Thread: Immigration law, waivers cause confusion

http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1319826&secid=1

Publication:The Gazette; Date:Aug 2, 2006; Section:Metro; Page Number:15

Immigration law, waivers cause confusion

By KYLE HENLEY THE GAZETTE


DENVER c Critics from both sides of the immigration debate expressed concern about Colorado’s new anti-illegal immigration law that went into effect Tuesday.

The law — hyped as the toughest in the country — requires people seeking government services to prove they are American citizens or that they are here legally.

Mexican Consul General Juan Marcos Gutierrez-Gonzalez worried that the law will hurt Mexican citizens who are in Colorado legally and illegally.

“There is a lot of confusion,” he said. “So far, there is a lot of misunderstanding.” The consul’s office in Denver has been receiving 30-40 calls a day on the issue from Mexican citizens.

Critics who want to crack down on illegal immigrants are concerned that a system granting waivers from the law’s stringent identification requirements will become a loophole to exploit the system.

“It is an immediate weakening of the intent of the law when you start providing waivers,” said Rep. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs.

The law requires anyone seeking government services — welfare, government loans, business licenses and more — to show a valid Colorado driver’s license or another form of government identification.

The waiver process will run until March 1. It was originally aimed at making sure nursing home residents and the homeless were not impacted by the law.

Under the waiver system, those seeking services can produce a driver’s license or ID from one of 34 states as proof of citizenship. They also can bring in a foreign passport, valid immigration documents or a birth certificate.

Gov. Bill Owens walked a tightrope when faced with the concerns from both camps. To assuage the Mexican government, he vowed earlier this week that the law will be implemented in a respectful and humane manner.

“I want to be humane,” Owens said. “I want to be very clear that most people who have come here from other countries, whether legally or illegally, are good people. I just want them to come here legally.”

Owens tried to downplay the waiver system. More than 1 million people in Colorado receive some kind of government assistance. The governor’s office estimates that 2,000 to 4,000 people will seek waivers.

“The vast majority . . . will not be eligible for a waiver,” he said.

It’s still too soon to see whether the fears and concerns expressed by folks on either side pan out. Tuesday was the first day the law was in effect.

Officials at the Department of Revenue, which is in charge of granting waivers, said Tuesday was much slower than expected. They had planned to see thousands of people across the state flooding driver’s license offices to get a waiver.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com

New ID rules baffle many across state
Officials still confused about requirements on law's opening day

By Myung Oak Kim, April Washington And John Aguilar, Rocky Mountain News
August 2, 2006

The first day of Colorado's new immigration law passed quietly but not without confusion and glitches.

Many government agencies were scrambling Tuesday to implement House Bill 1023, which sets up a strict identification check meant to deny many public services to people in the country illegally.

Staffers at the Denver Department of Human Services worked until 4 a.m. Tuesday to prepare training for the agency's 400 workers.

The Mesa County Department of Human Services didn't immediately change procedures because the administrator said she received the regulations on Monday and needed more direction.

In Douglas County, Deputy District Attorney Kelly Dunnaway advised county commissioners to follow HB 1023's requirements with a group of homeowners seeking a paved road in its subdivision.

"Is it a public benefit in this case? "How far do you go?" he said, regarding still unanswered questions about the scope of the law.

Dunnaway said he's unsure how to handle the issue of licenses and contracts that appear to fall under yet another new immigration law.

"This has just been foisted so suddenly upon us that we're trying to make sure we can keep up," he said.

For some recipients of services, HB 1023 remained a mystery, too.

"I had not heard anything," said Veronica Antillan, 39, of Denver, who visited Clinica Campesina on Tuesday for a health checkup.

Still figuring out rules

Nonprofits such as Clinica Campesina and private organizations that administer government programs are affected by the law, according to guidelines issued by the state attorney general's office. But government lawyers are still figuring out how to handle these groups.

Antillan said clinic workers did not ask for the ID required by HB 1023.

The state Department of Revenue opened a special office Tuesday at 1375 Sherman St. in Denver to process waivers for people who don't have the required identification. But that office and the 32 designated driver's license bureaus across Colorado issued no waivers all day, officials said.

"The rush hasn't hit," said M. Michael Cooke, executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue. "Somewhere out there, there are a lot of folks who don't have the identification they need for benefits. Eventually, they'll have to come in."

Officials had predicted that the rollout of HB 1023 would not be smooth. That's because lawmakers passed the bill just three weeks ago. In addition, the law, signed by the governor Monday, is sweeping and complex, requiring detailed interpretation by government lawyers.

The law affects a wide range of programs, from unemployment to college financial aid and welfare. The law does not apply to emergency care, programs for children under 18, a host of medical services such as immunizations and prenatal care and certain federal programs such as food stamps that prohibit state intrusion.

Agencies are still figuring out another component of the law, too: government licenses, contracts, grants and loans. Officials are confused about which of these services fall under HB 1023 and which fall under any of the 16 other immigration laws passed since the spring.

Confusion among lawyers

Even the lawyers aren't on the same page.

The Denver City Attorney's Office determined that the more than 8,000 business and professional licenses issued each year would not fall under HB 1023, but rather under HB 1009, another immigration law that takes effect in January.

A lawyer for the state said Tuesday afternoon that the city is wrong. But later, the lawyer retracted that statement, saying the city's interpretation was correct.

County human services departments, which issue Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (formerly known as welfare) and several other programs, are also affected by HB 1023.

At the Denver Department of Human Services a small number of people were sent home because they didn't have the right ID. But case workers began calling hundreds of clients who are about to renew benefits to tell them they need to bring in the ID required by the new law.

In Douglas County, operations went relatively smoothly, said George Kennedy, director of its human services department.

Implementation of HB 1023 won't be cheap, though, Kennedy said.

"We'll have to determine administrative costs," he said. "As soon as you add another step, you add another five minutes to the process."

College students who apply for financial aid also will have to undergo the new ID verification process.

Students on the Auraria campus in Denver on Tuesday said they already had shown proof of citizenship and a Colorado driver's license when applying for financial aid.

'See what we've done'

"It's a bureaucratic smoke screen," said Josh Vallejo, 23, a biology major at Metropolitan State College. "They simply passed a law so they can say, 'See what we've done to address immigration.' "

Little changed at Denver-area work-force centers, which haven't received guidelines on how to comply, according to Bill Thoennes, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Job seekers didn't have to sign an affidavit or follow any new procedures.

Meanwhile, concerns about harm to the Mexican-American community led the Mexican Consulate in Denver to launch a public education campaign about HB 1023 and two other new immigration laws.

"This legislation tends to make it difficult for people being here," said Consul General Juan Marcos Gutierrez Gonzalez.

Hector Catillo, owner of El Alamo, a bakery at 7353 N. Pecos, said many illegal immigrants are confused about the laws.

"Some people are really scared. People are getting prepared in case something big happens," he said. "Here, people haven't been coming that much. The clientele is down. I think it's because people are saving their money just in case they have to go."

Key provisions of House Bill 1023

Starting Tuesday, people 18 or older who apply for many non-emergency local, state or federal government services must show one of several forms of identification, including:

• A Colorado driver's license or Colorado identification card

• U.S. military or military dependent card

• Merchant Mariner ID card

• American Indian tribal identification

• Birth certificate, foreign passport, adoption order, immigration card, a driver's license from any of 34 other states that require proof of immigration status.

• The applicant also must sign an affidavit stating that he or she is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident eligible for government services.

• If the applicant is a U.S. citizen, no further steps are required. If the applicant is not a citizen, the government agency must run the person's name through a federal verification system called SAVE, for Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements. The check, which determines whether the person is in the United States legally, takes three to five seconds, according to SAVE officials.

• If the SAVE program shows the applicant is here legally and eligible for services, no further steps are required. If it shows the person is here illegally, a second, more in-depth check is required. That check can take three to five days.

Mexican Consul General Juan Marcos Gutierrez-Gonzalez worried that the law will hurt Mexican citizens who are in Colorado legally and illegally.

Well Juan, the only ones that need worry are the ones here illegally.

I particulary enjoy the statement of "Mexican citizens". Obviously they do not want to become American citizens.