http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/sep05/359201.asp

AB 69

Bill bars illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses
By STACY FORSTER
sforster@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 28, 2005
Madison - The Republican-controlled Assembly voted late last night to require those applying for a driver’s license to show proof of legal residency.

The vote on the bill, AB 69, was 62 to 35, with two members absent, to bar illegal immigrants from obtaining official identification.

Forty-one states already have legislation to deny driver’s licenses to non-citizens, said Rep. Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin), one of the bill’s authors. Recent federal legislation sponsored by Republican U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner of Menomonee Falls requires that states meet standards for verifying citizenship. If they don’t, federal officials won’t accept that state’s ID cards as identification for purposes such as boarding planes or entering federal buildings.

But advocates for immigrants said the bill could lead to racial profiling and unsafe roads if people decide to drive without proper licenses.

"There used to be a path to citizenship," said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, director of Voces de la Frontera, a community group that works on immigrant and workers rights issues. "Legislation like this, all it does is create divisions in our society."

Under current law, people show information to verify their addresses and birth dates, but not their residency status. If the bill became law, applicants would have to show proof of residence and a date when their legal alien status expires. The date would be printed on the person’s driver’s license, the bill says.

Changing the law is a matter of fighting terrorism and protecting national security, Gundrum said.

Gundrum and Rep. Mark Pettis (R-Hertel) said the state Department of Motor Vehicles has seen an increase in driver’s license applications since Illinois enacted a stricter standard in 2001, as more people are coming to Wisconsin to obtain licenses.

Almost 32,825 driver’s licenses were issued in DMV offices in Waukesha, Walworth, Racine and Kenosha in 2004, an increase of 9.5% from 2001.

"We’ve become a Mecca for people illegally in the country to come and get their licenses," Gundrum said.

The bill now goes to the Senate for approval.

If it reaches Gov. Jim Doyle’s desk, he would evaluate it before deciding whether to sign it, said spokeswoman Melanie Fonder. Although Wisconsin will be forced to comply with the federal law at some point, it might be too soon to know if this approach is the right one, she said.

In other late action, the Assembly passed legislation that would:


Prevent the state Department of Corrections from providing hormone therapy or sex-change operations to prisoners. The bill was approved 82 to 15.

Create a penalty for those who post harassing or intimidating messages on the Internet. The bill passed 86 to 11.

Prevent the state Department of Natural Resources from forcing ice shanty owners to remove their structures before a certain date in March; it passed on a voice vote. Removal dates will be established by the shanty’s location. If a shanty is on inland water south of state Highway 64, it must be removed by the first Sunday following March 1; shanties north of Highway 64 must be removed by the first Sunday after March 12.

Require that the governor receive legislative approval before agreeing with federal authorities to allow an off-reservation gaming facility. The bill passed 59 to 37. [/code]