Hearing on tighter license rules draws rally
01/12/2008
Associated Press

Representatives ranging from farm worker advocates to the Oregon chapter of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps were at the Oregon Capitol Friday to support or oppose stiffer rules for driver's licenses for undocumented residents.

"Drug dealers get protection in Oregon," Ted Campbell, head of the Oregon Minutemen said.

But Kevin Courtney, 10, worried what tighter rules might do to families.

"I am in fifth grade and I heard all my classmates saying their parents are very worried about what is happening with their driving licenses and probably they won't have a way to go to work and they won't have enough money to buy food," he told a hearing of the joint House and Senate transportation committees.

They were among more than 150 people who signed up to testify on draft legislation. Another hearing is expected before the Legislature meets in a short session in February.

Nearly 2,000 others showed up to listen or rally on the Capitol steps. Most opposed the stricter rules.

The hearing came as state transportation officials prepare to adopt rules that would tighten requirements for getting, renewing or replacing an Oregon driver's license after Feb. 4.

The new regulations came in an executive order by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

There is disagreement between the Legislative Counsel and Kulongoski's legal advisers over whether the order requires people to prove they're in the country legally.

The new rules would require proof of identity and Oregon residency, and a Social Security number that can be verified.

But even that would not satisfy requirements of the 2005 Real ID Act, federal officials said Friday. Among other things, the Oregon system would not be plugged into a federal database.

Homeland Security officials in Washington, D.C., said Friday that states not in compliance with the federal act would have to submit a waiver by May asking for additional time to comply, or risk vigorous screenings of their residents at airports and federal buildings.

Also Friday the U.S. Department of Homeland Security unveiled final Real ID rules that establish minimum security standards for state-issued drivers' licenses and identification cards.

With the federal rules released, Oregon will seek a waiver to gain time, Kulongoski's spokeswoman, Patty Wentz, told the Statesman Journal.

The issue in Oregon is as contentious as immigration itself.

Groups opposing illegal immigration say anything less than a proof-of-legal-presence standard invites terrorists and drug traffickers.

"In addition, Oregon continues to issue eight-year driver's licenses to people with six-month visas, and that's unconscionable," said Jim Ludwick, the president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, which opposes illegal immigration. "Oregon is a mecca and a magnet for ID fraud and illegal immigration."

But Hispanic activists migrant worker supporters say such claims are a new low in anti-immigrant lobbying.

"The fact is, undocumented Latino workers pay $134 million to $187 million in income taxes annually," said Victoria Lewis, a member of the Oregon Coalition for Public Safety. "In Oregon, they put between $1.8 billion to $2.5 billion into the economy as consumers of products and services."
http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStor ... 3TH02.html