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News

Immigrants press lawmakers for access to driver's licenses

By THOMAS BEAUMONT
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
March 1, 2005
Hundreds of immigrants to Iowa converged on the Iowa Capitol today, urging lawmakers to allow them access to driver's licenses regardless of their immigration status.

"I have to drive to and from Grinnell each day for work," said Jean DeLossantos of Des Moines, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who moved to Iowa from Utah, where people lacking legal residency or employment status can obtain licenses.

"I can drive in Utah, but not in Iowa," said DeLossantos, a 33-year-old waiter who commutes 100 miles a day on Interstate 80. He was issued a $340 ticket last year for failure to provide proof of car insurance.

Iowa would join 11 states with laws allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, if a bill in the Senate Transportation Committee becomes law.

Opponents of the measure also cite security concerns, that a driver's license is the gateway to other forms of identification for people in the country illegally.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled last month that illegal immigrants in Iowa are not entitled to a driver's license.

Read more in Wednesday Des Moines Register