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New laws bind U.S. citizens
Changes meant to keep out illegal immigrants cause problems


September 17, 2006
By Shane Benjamin | Herald Staff Writer

When Patricia and Bill Borgers moved to Durango six weeks ago, they wanted to be law-abiding residents and obtain driver's licenses within 30 days.

They headed to the local Division of Motor Vehicles office. But recent changes designed to keep out illegal immigrants thwarted their efforts - even though both were born and raised in America.

"We made two trips down there," Pat said. "We took everything we had - every kind of ID we had, because we didn't know what they were going to want."

The list went something like this: a Texas driver's license, notarized birth certificate, passport document, Social Security card, car-licensing tag, boat license, local checking-account records, Durango library card, three gasoline credit cards, Sam's Club photo card, AAA card, Medicare card and insurance cards.

But still no Colorado driver's license.

Under strict new rules approved this year by the state Legislature, the Borgerses were unable to prove lawful presence in the United States - even with all their forms of identification. It came as a surprise to Patricia and Bill Borgers, who are 66 and 70 respectively, and were both born in Texas.

"I'm sure it's because of immigration and all of that," Pat Borgers said.

Michael Cooke, executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue, which oversees the issuance of driver's licenses, said as of last week the department had turned away about 2,800 people seeking to obtain licenses because of apparent problems with their documents. Of those, only 300-plus met with investigators who later determined 156 applicants were legal residents, she said. Thirty-one were rejected because of expired documents, and 150 applications were sent to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services for further review.

It is unknown how many of the 150 applicants referred to the citizen and immigration department attempted to pass fraudulent documents or are here illegally, Cooke said, partly because their cases are pending.

She said that non-U.S. residents who attempt to obtain a driver's license are not immune from prosecution or deportation if their information is sent to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Cooke said Texas and Puerto Rico birth certificates have become problematic for the state's licensing agency since Aug. 1. "Because of that, if someone presents a Texas birth certificate, then we're going to ask for some additional form of ID."

Pat Borgers was eventually able to obtain her driver's license, but it wasn't until her third try, when she was accompanied by a Herald photographer documenting her struggles.

"I think it was the camera," she said. "I think that they were just being gracious and gave it to me."

The Department of Revenue did not return a second phone call seeking explanation.

But Bill Borgers was turned down a third time, and he was told he needed a Texas-issued birth certificate with a raised seal.

Eddie Soto, coordinator of Los Compaņeros, the Latino civil-rights organization based in Durango, said Colorado's new rules don't do anything to address the immigration issue, and they only make roads and communities more dangerous.

Undocumented immigrants won't try to obtain a driver's license in Colorado, he said, and that means they will be driving around without passing driving exams and without insurance. And undocumented immigrants are less likely to report crime if they cannot show officers identification, he said.

"Wouldn't you feel much safer if everyone driving on the road with you were insured?" Soto asked. "The rules that we're trying to pass are just endangering the community more and more every day."

What is more, the new rules appear to be in violation of federal law, he said. "States are allowed to make laws easier, but not harsher," he said. "Sadly, nobody has brought a challenge to it."

Soto lost his wallet six months ago, and has so far been unsuccessful at replacing his Colorado driver's license.

Even before the new rules took effect, the driving bureau in Durango told Soto he would need a Texas birth certificate. But without any identification, he is relying on his mother to obtain one for him.

"If I didn't have a mom in the state of Texas, I'd be screwed," he said. "I could go get my passport quicker than I could my Colorado driver's license."

And Pat Borgers joked that it would be easier to drive to Mexico and pay $100 for a Colorado driver's license than to obtain one through the state.

She offers this advice to out-of-state residents seeking a Colorado driver's license:

"Pack a lunch and take a cushion to sit on, because you're going to be there an hour to two."