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