States Hit Snags Issuing Driver's Licenses to Undocumented Immigrants

States With Substantial Immigrant Populations Finding Regulations Tricky to Roll Out

By DAN FROSCH
Updated July 30, 2014 8:38 p.m. ET


Pomona Economic Opportunity Center organizer Benjamin Wood, right, displays his group's workers identification card during a California Department of Motor Vehicles hearing in Los Angeles last month. The department took public comments on proposed license rules for undocumented immigrants. AP


DENVER—A law granting driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants is set to take effect Friday in Colorado, but the state is facing challenges as it seeks to handle a wave of applicants.

Other states with large immigrant populations, such as California and Illinois, also are dealing with complications and high demands as they implement similar laws.


In Colorado, the motor-vehicle division's scheduling website was overwhelmed in early July after it started setting up appointments for undocumented immigrants, and shut down several times.


There is a three-month wait to get an appointment with the Driver Services Department in Illinois, which began issuing licenses to undocumented immigrants last December, as tens of thousands of people have tried to apply.


And an estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in California are expected to seek special driver's licenses beginning in January. Officials have been working on a new document design since the federal government rejected the state's initial effort because it was too similar to a traditional driver's license.

Eleven states and Washington, D.C., have laws permitting undocumented immigrants to get some sort of special driver's license or permit, said the National Conference of State Legislatures. Individuals who can't show that they are in the U.S. lawfully typically are required to provide proof of state residency, tax returns or other identification to qualify for licenses. But in larger, more populous states, where substantial numbers of immigrants may be eligible, the new regulations are proving tricky to roll out.


In Colorado, the state is only offering appointments to apply for the licenses at five of 37 motor vehicle division offices.

While immigrant advocates praised the new law, they raised concerns that some living in rural areas would have to drive hours to reach the nearest office.


"Some people are frustrated because they don't understand why the state government would want them to drive without a license over highways and mountain passes, essentially endangering themselves and other people if there were an accident," said Nicole Mosher, executive director of Compañeros, which provides resources to immigrants in southwestern Colorado.


Daria Serna, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Revenue, which oversees the licensing program, said lawmakers had intended it to be funded through license fees.

Department officials said Wednesday they couldn't expand the resources it has devoted to the program without potentially raising the costs for applicants.


"Some people maybe expected us to license everyone in the first 30 days," she said. "If we need to go back and ask for more resources, then we will do that."


Illinois officials and immigrant advocates said they were encouraged by the huge interest in the licenses in that state, though it caused a lengthy lag time.


"We are encouraging people to be patient," said Dave Druker a spokesman for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.


California's motor vehicle department has held four public hearings in recent weeks in Los Angeles and Oakland as it prepares to complete its licensing regulations. Immigrant rights groups were urging state officials to expand the list of identifying documents that could be submitted by applicants.


State officials said they were continuing to work with the Department of Homeland Security to devise a license design that was distinguishable from its regular license in accordance with a federal law known as the Real ID Act.


Corrections & Amplifications

Colorado's the state motor vehicle division's scheduling website was overwhelmed with traffic in early July. An earlier version of this article reported it was overwhelmed in early June.

Write to
Dan Frosch at dan.frosch@wsj.com

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