Thread: Lawmakers' battle brews over driver's license policy

Lawmakers' battle brews over driver's license policy
By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau
Posted: 01/22/2009 12:00:00 AM MST


AUSTIN -- Texas House lawmakers are spoiling for a fight over controversial new driver's licenses that single out legal U.S. residents who are not citizens.

The leader of a group of conservative lawmakers said Wednesday they plan to file a bill that would make permanent a driver's license policy critics call discriminatory and are working to undo.

"What this does is foster more of the immigrant bashing," said state Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston.

The Texas Department of Public Safety in October implemented a new rule that denies driver's licenses and identification cards to those whose legal status in the U.S. expires in fewer than six months. The department also started printing "TEMPORARY VISITOR" on vertically oriented licenses for all non-U.S. citizens.

DPS and Gov. Rick Perry said the new rules were aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses and protecting the integrity of licenses as an identifying document.

State Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, president of the Texas Conservative Coa lition, said he and other conservative legislators would propose a bill that would write the new DPS policy into law.

"If you're an illegal person in the U.S., we feel it's wrong to give legal identification to them," Christian said.

Critics of the policy have said the new rules don't align with federal


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immigration laws and that DPS is unfairly denying licenses to legal U.S. residents. Those who get non-citizen licenses, critics worry, could be subject to harassment and discrimination.
Last week, the Austin-based Texas Civil Rights Project sued the state, claiming the policy discriminated against two domestic violence survivors and a Honduran re fugee who were in the country legally.

Farrar said she plans to file legislation to reverse the license policy.

"What it's doing is turning DPS officers into immigration officers, which they're not qualified to do that," she said.

El Paso immigration lawyer Kathleen Walker, past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association,, said the policy could mean more people driving without licenses and without insurance.

The new license policy, she said, could make roads more dangerous and won't prevent terrorism.

"You shouldn't have two separate classes of citizenry regarding a driver's license," she said. "Either you've got a driver's license or you don't."


Brandi Grissom may be reached at bgrissom@elpasotimes.com; 512-479-6606.http://www.elpasotimes.com/politics/ci_11522348

Valid legal status dirver's License, proper tags, car insurance, inspection annually, and resident address - with timeframe of expiration in advance; driver and vehicle must be in order. Shouldn't the above cost between $800 and 1600 annually for one legal immigrant?

But the immigrants send for the illegal immigrants...

I just sent an e-mail to Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, to let her know the differnce between immigrants and illegal immigrants. Obviously she is unable to.

Link->http://www.elpasotimes.com/politics/ci_11522348


Comments here, is seems the wackos are out in force on the comment page
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/el-pa ... RHV5DKB8V4

"The intent of a "driver's license" is to show just that: Who has met the requirements to be allowed to drive.

What conservatives seem to want to do is to turn the DL into a defacto ID card. It would be far more honest to propose legislation saying as much rather than trying to cowardly sneak it in the back door.

Last I checked, driving was not a privilege reserved ONLY for American citizens and legal residents. In fact, the state has an interest in ensuring that those who are driving have the training and skills to do so. This has not one thing to do with legal status. If the legislature feels that it should be so, then they should pass a law saying as such. Instead once again they go with cowardly tactics like these.

OMG....and we unfairly target those under 21 with a special license and make the old people take more tests than the middle-aged people, and a different one for those who can drive trucks and those who can drive a buss and then they have the nerve to write on there if you have restrictions and everyone will know I need glasses.....

If you're here legally and have the tests then sure, drive and make sure that license expires when they are due to leave. People from other countries drive here on vacations with rental cars and for business.....they are here legally. We know who they are and have documents we can pull if they commit crimes. The issue is illegals driving. Why keep trying to muddy the water by dragging legal people in ?

This has not one thing to do with legal status. If the legislature feels that it should be so, then they should pass a law saying as such. Instead once again they go with cowardly tactics like these.

Then why did I have to bring in a birth certificate, SS#, bills, and such. Had to prove something and couldn't get it even though I can drive. In fact I had a drivers license that was valid from another state....I had to go and prove it all over again. They used to have some states that just went ahead and checked and then accepted it without going through the whole shabang all over.....but not now.....because of the illegals and all the phony ID's.

Even if you don't drive you still have to bring in your birth certificate and SS# etc. to get a state ID. My drivers license IS my ID.

Very good points crazybird

El Paso immigration lawyer Kathleen Walker, past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association,, said the policy could mean more people driving without licenses and without insurance.

Simple answer to that! Deport the illegals and they won't be driving on our roads without licenses and insurance.

Last I checked, driving was not a privilege reserved ONLY for American citizens and legal residents.

Nope it's not reserved for just us but just like American citizens and residents there are rules we have to follow in order to get that privilege. Prove who you are with the proper documents they want. I mean they give you what, 10 days in each state to change your address if you move or go to another state to live or you get fined. In Florida you still had to go down and have like dual resident status if you were a snow bird and spent 1/2 your time there and 1/2 in your home state or even another country. Until it got more computerized, they wouldn't accept your out-state drivers license for certain things ...like cashing a check without a ton of other proof of who you are. Some means to track and find you.....locate your relatives if you were dead or injured....trace your butt down if you fled the state and committed crimes. As a citizen they wouldn't open a bank account for my daughter until she went down and got a State ID......because they had the means to verify stuff that the bank didn't. Then when she got her drivers license she didn't need her state issued ID anymore. So like it or not, the drivers license is a form of ID. She couldn't get it with a photo student ID because all those other requirements didn't have to be met. Handing a bank lady a birth certificate and SS# wouldn't cut it because there was no photo.

A few years ago (in Fla. I think) an American citizen went for a driver's license. Since she was Muslim she refused to take off the hejjab head gear for her license photo, when all you could see with this was only her eyes. She was denied for that simple fact. There was a huge discrimination uproar. We are supposed to be a nation of laws, not a nation of ignoring those laws for special interest groups.