Thread: OR: ID rules strike fear in workers

ID rules strike fear in workers

Security - Immigrants protest new Oregon driver's license requirements that they say will cost them jobs
FACTBOX

• Getting your license



Saturday, January 12, 2008
JANIE HAR
The Oregonian Staff

SALEM -- More than 1,000 immigrants and their supporters protested Friday at the Capitol as lawmakers and Gov. Ted Kulongoski moved to require tougher driver's license rules that start in three weeks.

The changes are part of a broader effort to beef up border security, but they also will make it harder for undocumented immigrants to drive legally.

Many are trying to get licenses and identification cards before the Feb. 4 deadline -- resulting in bigger crowds and longer waits at DMV offices -- while others are staying away, fearful of deportation if they show up without a Social Security number.
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"People are confused and scared and not sure where they're going to be left after the fourth," said Aeryca Steinbauer with Causa, an immigrant advocacy coalition based in Salem.

The new rules, ordered by Kulongoski in November, require applicants to show a valid Social Security number and other documentation proving they are U.S. citizens, legal residents or authorized visitors.

Kulongoski said he will not back off efforts to make Oregon more secure.

The governor noted that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday also issued new rules to require that states verify a person's citizenship as part of a national identification law.

The Bush administration pushed back the deadline for states to comply with all the rules of the national identification law to 2017, which is when all driver's license holders must carry a REAL ID card. But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said states have until May to request a waiver for more time to comply if they want their residents to continue to be able to use their driver's licenses to board commercial flights this spring.

That might be a problem in 17 states -- including Washington and Idaho -- that have rejected the national ID law as too expensive, burdensome and a violation of state rights. Oregon officials say they plan to request a waiver.

"All it tells me is we have to go forward with this," Kulongoski said before a meeting of the state Homeland Security Council. "We're doing the right thing."

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Oregon is one of seven states that do not require proof of legal status for licenses. Kulongoski has said that's made the state a magnet for criminals seeking easy identification.

National studies put the undocumented population in Oregon between 150,000 and 175,000, mostly people from Mexico.

Hundreds gathered for the noon rally. They packed the steps and spilled across the street onto the Capitol Mall, waving hand-drawn signs pleading to keep their right to drive.
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Afterward, some 300 people filled several hearing rooms and lobby areas in the Capitol as the House and Senate transportation committees met to consider draft legislation for next month's supplemental session.

"What are these people going to do if you take their driver's license away?" asked Santiago Espinosa, a Spanish-language radio show host in Woodburn. "What are we going to do? Throw them out? I don't think we can do that."

Fifth-grader Kevin Courtney-Vera testified that he and his parents, both teachers at Woodburn High School, worry about the impact on students whose parents will not be able to drive to work.

"I can see my parents' faces when they talk about that. I can see how hurt they are, too," he said.

A nervous Omar Pedraza, an 11-year-old at Five Oaks Middle School in Beaverton, kept his testimony brief.

"A lot of parents, they don't live near their work," he said. "If they can't drive, they can't go to work. That's all I want to say."

Claudio, a 53-year-old factory worker who lives in Gresham, said in an interview with The Oregonian that he will have no choice but to continue driving when his license expires in June. He didn't want his last name used because he is an illegal immigrant.


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He said fear has kept many people he knows away from DMV offices.

"A lot of people are afraid to get their license because they don't have a Social Security number," he said.

"We are not criminals. We just want to work. I've been here for 20 years and never had a problem with the law. I've had a clean record."
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The issue is far from easy for legislators. Senators voted to introduce the driver's license legislation in February, but the House failed to get enough votes. The room erupted into cheers after Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, said he'd vote no, saying his grandmother "broke the law" to come to this country.

The House committee is expected to reconsider later this month.

"This is not an issue I love," said committee chairwoman Rep. Terry Beyer, D-Springfield.

Meanwhile, the average wait to take a driver's test has tripled from seven days in January 2007 to 21 days this month, reports the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services. In December, the average wait was 20 days, up from nine days the previous December.

"We've been busy," said Bill Halsne, customer service manager for the North Salem DMV. "We've been busier than usual."

People calling up now for a drive test won't get one until Feb. 12. The wait is usually a week and a half, he said.

Friday morning, about 40 customers waited for help in the bustling office lobby.

Jay Sinor, 18, said he thinks the changes are fine. "They just need to go get a Social Security card," he said.

Others disagreed.

"I know it's illegal, but they have rights," says Mauricio Laurrabaquio Lopez.

"We're all human."

Harry Esteve of The Oregonian and The Associated Press contributed to this report. For more politics, go to www.oregonlive.com/politics Janie Har: 503-221-8213; janiehar@news.oregonian.com


http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oreg ... xml&coll=7

Kulongoski said he will not back off efforts to make Oregon more secure

Thanks Governor. That is the right thing to do.

Kulongoski, although a Democrat, is also a former Marine Corps officer. I wonder what kind of response your ordinary liberal Democrat would have to the issue of security vs, "immigrant rights?"

Hey Captainron - good question, good question.

For one thing having a driver's license is a PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT. Not even for citizens. The DEMANDS of criminal illegals makes me sick!

Who paid for the police security during this protest--we did. As cvangel pointed out, this protest was not about 'RIGHTS' but about a 'PRIVILEGE'.

ICE could save time, effort, and legwork if they attended these protests and checked immigration status on the spot.

There is a difference between tolerance and abuse. We Americans are too tolerant and too conditioned by political correctness to the point we allow foreigners and criminals to commit political abuses in our country.

Do we give up the freedoms we love? The solution is to keep our freedoms, stop illegal immigration, deport the abusers, and expel foreign diplomats party to such actions.

"When in Mexico the U.S. State Department reminds U.S. citizens to avoid participating in demonstrations and other activities that might be deemed political by Mexican authorities. The Mexican Constitution prohibits political activities by foreigners, and such actions may result in detention and/or deportation."
U.S. State Department

Since they get drivers license that means they can register to vote. Was it 1992/93 the motor vote law was passed by congress.

Can anyone verify if they vote?