Thread: Rules meant to foil illegal immigrants cause havoc at DMV

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/l ... 63,00.html

Red tape ensnares state's new ID law
Rules meant to foil illegal immigrants cause havoc at DMV
David M. Barreda © News

Waiting in line last week at the DMV office on Mississippi Avenue are, from left, Bridget Gonzales, Natalie Kitka and Dana Benton. The wait was running about 90 minutes because of identification issues.
By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News
September 25, 2006
When state Sen. Andy McElhany helped pass a tough anti-illegal immigration measure this summer, he never expected his family to get caught up in the red tape.
Earlier this month, a Colorado Springs driver's license office refused to issue McElhany's 15-year- old daughter a learner's permit when she presented a passport to prove she is a bona fide Colorado resident and U.S. citizen.

"Our daughter is a legal citizen with a legal passport," said McElhany, R-Colorado Springs. "There is no reason to believe a 15-year-old has a fake passport."

But as of Sept. 6, U.S. passports, long believed to be a solid form of identification, are no longer being accepted without another document - such as a state-issued birth certificate or Social Security card - to get a driver's license or state ID.

Colorado's new immigration law, passed by the legislature in July, sets up strict identification checks meant to deny most public services to adult illegal immigrants. A Colorado driver's license or state identification card are the main forms of ID needed.

The problem, McElhany and others say, is that the rules to get a Colorado ID keep changing, practically on a weekly basis. Most residents are unaware of the changes, however, and confusion is rampant at many Division of Motor Vehicle offices.

"You need to have a policy in place, but you need to tell people what the policy is so they'll know what to expect to get an ID," McElhany said. "What's going on now is crazy."

Michael Cooke, executive director of the state's Department of Revenue, which oversees the DMV, has changed the rules for Colorado IDs four times since the new anti-immigration law went into effect Aug. 1 to counter fake documents.

"The face of fraud is changing so rapidly as people try to outwit our changes of policy," said Rick Archer, chief investigator for the Revenue Department.

DMV offices are seeing people attempting to use fraudulent Texas and Puerto Rico birth certificates, American Indian tribal ID cards, and even U.S. passports.

Cooke said the federal government does not require the use of a person's full legal name for the issuance of a passport. It also does not require "rigid proof" of identity or legal residency in the United States.

And, Cooke said, if an applicant can't produce some form of ID, he or she can still get a passport if friends or family members take an oath that they've known the individual for at least two years and that he or she is a U.S. citizen.

Since Aug. 1, about 1,700 people have been caught at DMV offices trying to pass fake papers, largely immigration documents. About 150 more attempted to use fraudulent birth certificates.

"The problem with passports and some birth certificates is that some states will take any documents," Cooke said. "In Colorado, our laws our tough and they're meant to be tough.

"We're taking the steps that are necessary to protect citizens from identity theft and to protect the integrity of the documents we issue."

When the law was enacted, it said anyone who wanted to get public benefits had to have one of four forms of identification: a Colorado driver's license or state ID, a Merchant Marine card or an American Indian tribal document.

Soon after, Cooke relaxed those requirements and issued temporary rules that were supposed to be in effect until March. Under them, people could get Colorado IDs and benefits by showing a number of documents, including a certified birth certificate, valid naturalization certificate or citizenship certificate, a U.S. passport, a court-issued adoption order, or a valid license or photo ID issued by one of 34 states.

On Aug. 28, Cooke excluded from acceptable documents birth certificates issued by cities, counties and hospitals from any state after DMV offices saw a spike in phony paperwork from Puerto Rico and Texas. Only state-certified birth certificates, along with other forms of ID, are acceptable.

A week later, Cooke ruled an applicant can't get a Colorado ID by solely showing a passport.

The new immigration law and a previous state statute gives the Revenue Department director full authority to make rule changes when the need arises.

Still, sponsors of the law accused Cooke of abusing her power and micromanaging the new law to the point that it's making it difficult for legal residents to get public benefits and a Colorado driver's license or ID card.

"Part of the problem is that Michael Cooke has made up her own laws," said Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon. "She has not been given the power to go over and above what the bill intended."

Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, said he's received a flood of calls, some from senior citizens who can't put their hands on their birth certificates.

"I'm dealing with situations where older folks say that their birth certificates burned up in a fire in a podunk town . . . and they can't get a driver's license," Buescher said.

He thinks the legislature will have to "tweak" the law next year.

"I think we'll see a backlash of ordinary citizens finding it difficult to live their lives. That was not the intent of this legislation," Buescher said.

Dennis and Tanora Nubine moved from California to Colorado in July. After recently spending hours at the DMV in Aurora, they were told that some of their children's California birth certificates weren't good enough to prove they are U.S. citizens. And Tanora was told her hospital-issued birth certificate from Indiana needed to be state-certified.

That was after the DMV clerk punched a hole in her California driver's license, making it invalid to use here.

At the DMV office in Denver on West Mississippi Avenue, Anna Giorgianni was told her birth certificate, issued by the state of New York in 1958, and her photo ID weren't good enough.

She now prays that New York will send a new birth certificate soon.

"Do you know how hard it is to get something from New York in a short period of time?" she said. "I can't believe this is happening to me."

ID info

If you present these documents when getting a state driver's license or ID, you will need to present additional documents:

• U.S. passport

• Any Texas or Puerto Rico birth certificate

• Tribal ID card

For more information: Go to www.revenue.state.co.us/mv_dir/wrap.asp ... i/faqdrli1

That's what it's been like here. My hospital birthcertificate that has been accepted for 51 years, isn't anymore. I have to pay 35 bucks to get a state certified one. Atleast I live now where I was born. Meaning in the state, in the county, in the town, where I was born. If I lived in another state it's a whole new group of hassels and documents to get it. I can't bring in a utility bill that has my husbands name on it even though I can prove I'm married to him. It has to be in my name. If your divorced.....bring all that too. Even though I have a valid license and just need to move it to this state......I have to do everything all over. It would be easier to pay someone a sum and get me bogus papers than it is to prove who I am.