Thread: Lawsuit Charges Md. MVA Denies Immigrants Driver's Licenses

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,175678,00.html

GLEN BURNIE, Md. â€â€

http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20051115 ... -6375r.htm

Aliens sue over delays on driver's licenses
By Keyonna Summers
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published November 16, 2005

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A group of immigrants has sued the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, saying the agency discriminates against foreign-born applicants by denying them driver's licenses or making it more difficult for them to get the licenses.

The 13 immigrants, whose legal statuses could not be determined yesterday, argue that the MVA requires foreign-born applicants to show more proof of their identity and residency than those who were born in the U.S.

They also charge that the MVA does not provide Spanish-language materials, interpreters or appointment verification mailings as is required by law when at least 3 percent of a state agency's population does not speak English.

About 4 percent of Marylanders speak Spanish, according to CASA of Maryland, one of two immigration advocacy groups that filed the lawsuit yesterday in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

"The MVA is in violation of their own law," said Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA of Maryland. "The reality is that even if you don't have work authorization and Social Security in this country, you are entitled to have a driver's license in Maryland. You don't have to" be legal.

Buel C. Young, a spokesman for MVA, said the agency is trying to streamline the process. However, he could not comment on the immigrants' claim that the MVA denies driver's licenses to foreign-born applicants.

"It's an individual case-by-case basis because you and I could be from the same country and provide different documents as our proof sources," he said. "So without knowing the individual's case, I can't comment on that."

Mr. Young said the agency began offering group appointments for foreign-born applicants more than a year ago to prevent long lines from forming when MVA clerks had trouble verifying documents.

"As a matter of convenience for both applicants that are going through the out-of-country process and the regular run-of-the-mill applicant, we moved to an appointment process to assist our overall operations," he said.

Mr. Young also said that not every branch is equipped to handle foreign-born applicants and that a number of factors create backlogs.

"We have backlogs based on people that have scheduled appointments and don't show," he said. And, "approximately 35 percent of [appointment verification] letters are returned undeliverable."

As for the lack of Spanish-language materials at MVA, Mr. Young told the Associated Press that there are 28 Spanish-speaking MVA employees out of 800 who deal with the public in issuing driver's licenses statewide.

He said handbooks and driver's tests are available in Spanish, but acknowledges that officials are still working toward improving procedures, such as the phone system, which has a portion that is only available in English.

"The state law says that you take reasonable steps to provide reasonable access," Mr. Young told the AP. "And the MVA has taken steps and we will continue to take steps to provide access."

The lawsuit comes several weeks after a new poll showed that 83 percent of Maryland voters favor legislation that would require most state and local government business to be conducted in English.

The poll conducted by nonpartisan Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies bolsters Maryland lawmakers including Delegate Patrick L. McDonough, Baltimore County Republican, seeking to make English the official state language.

CASA officials yesterday would not say whether any illegal aliens were represented in the lawsuit.

Mr. McDonough said yesterday that if the lawsuit forces MVA to provide Spanish-language materials to illegals, he will fight the ruling.

"I'm going to introduce legislation that would prohibit or knock off that ruling," he said. "Remember the courts are not lawmakers, the courts only interpret, and unfortunately, sometimes they think they're the legislators. We have the power to overrule that decision by the court."

Over the years, Maryland has grappled with issues involving immigration and illegal aliens.

Mr. McDonough said Maryland's illegal population has increased from about 75,000 to an estimated 300,000 in the past three years because the state has a reputation for being friendly to illegal aliens.

Maryland does not require that those who apply for a driver's license be legal U.S. residents. Virginia requires applicants -- U.S.- or foreign-born -- to provide proof of legal presence in the U.S. and two pieces of identification and proof of residency through a walk-in process.

Earlier this year, Congress passed the Real ID Act, which will create a national standard under which all states would be required to collect proof of legal residency before issuing a driver's license to any applicant.

"What CASA is doing flies in the face of the intentions of the Real ID Act and creates potential harm for the citizens of Maryland," said Mr. McDonough, who has previously proposed legislation to bar illegal aliens from obtaining driver's licenses.

The legislation failed.

"They will not tell the truth [about the immigration status of the plaintiffs] because their organization does not recognize the federal law," he said. "You cannot ignore our laws, then at the same time use our courts to promote a lawless policy, and I think that's what they're doing."

www.washingtonpost.com

Md. Immigrants Sue Over License Process

By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Page B09

Thirteen foreign-born residents of Maryland filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging that the state's Motor Vehicle Administration routinely and improperly denies driver's licenses to immigrants.

Unlike laws in Virginia and several other states, Maryland's code does not prohibit illegal immigrants from obtaining a license. Attempts by several legislators to pass such a prohibition have repeatedly failed -- with many Maryland lawmakers arguing that most illegal immigrants are otherwise law-abiding and that the roads are safer if they are required to pass a driving test.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit said they believe the MVA's informal procedures are designed to bar illegal immigrants, excluding many legal immigrants in the process as well.

"There have been pretty high-level leaders in the MVA who just don't believe that illegal immigrants belong in Maryland," said Kimberly Propeack, an advocacy director with the immigrant rights group CASA de Maryland, which is representing the plaintiffs. She argues that illegal immigrants fill vital jobs that U.S. citizens don't want.

"And I also think the process of having to look at foreign documents [as proof of identity] just seems messy to them and they'd just prefer not to deal with that," Propeack said of MVA examiners.

The suit, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court and announced to the media at a rally in front of the MVA's headquarters in Glen Burnie, takes particular issue with a requirement that foreign-born applicants make an appointment with a specially trained document examiner at one of eight offices across the state.

U.S.-born applicants can walk into any of the MVA's 18 offices and apply for a license without an appointment.

Buel Young, a spokesman for the MVA, said the agency adopted the system in September 2003 because of the challenges involved in verifying the authenticity of the foreign documents, such as passports and birth certificates issued by foreign governments.

"You can imagine that we get documents from all over the world," he said. "We felt that instead of having someone occupy a counter for potentially hours as opposed to the minutes necessary to process a run-of-the-mill application, this would be a better way."

Eliza Leighton, another CASA attorney, said a foreign-born applicant often has to wait weeks or months for an appointment that may be hours from his or her home.

"That's unequal treatment," she said. "That's not the due process required under the Maryland constitution."

The lawsuit alleges that many immigrants are turned down because of informal rules far more restrictive than those spelled out in state law and regulations.

For instance, Ana Lucila Gutierrez, 36, who moved from Panama to Laurel 10 months ago, alleges in the suit that an MVA examiner in Waldorf refused to accept her rental contract as proof that she lived in Maryland because her landlord lives in the same house -- a common arrangement in immigrant communities.

Gutierrez's husband, Eduardo Enrique Miranda Martinez, said examiners at the same office refused to accept his Panamanian driver's license even though it was accompanied by a translation from the Panamanian consulate.

State law states only that a foreign driver's license must come with a certified translation.

"The examiner said the translation had to come directly from the department of transportation in Panama," said Martinez, an auto mechanic. "It's very hard because the companies I want to work for won't hire me if I don't have a license. And I can't drive my kids to school -- can't even drive them to the doctor if they're sick. I worry a lot about it."

The lawsuit also alleges that the MVA regularly turns downs applicants who present passports without a current visa stamp -- even though state law does not require such stamps.

Similarly, the plaintiffs say, the MVA routinely refuses to consider school records if they encompass fewer than three years of study, and driver's licenses from other states if not accompanied by driving records -- even though neither restriction is specified under the law.

Young declined to comment on the lawsuit until MVA officials had time to review it.

However, he said the agency "follows the statute and regulations" and added that "the MVA has had an ongoing dialogue with CASA and legislators and various representatives of the Hispanic community" on the issues.

But Leighton said she had lost patience after six months of negotiating with MVA officials. "It was too time-consuming, and it was doing nothing to force the agency to enforce its own laws," she said.



www.washingtonpost.com

Requirements For License

Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Page B09

Under a law passed in 2003, Virginia requires applicants for a state driver's license to prove that they are in the country legally. Drivers who held a state license before the law's passage, however, do not need to prove lawful immigration status to renew their license.

Maryland and the District do not require applicants to prove legal immigration status. But the District requires applicants to present a Social Security number, effectively barring almost all illegal immigrants from obtaining a driver's license.