Driverfs Licenses for Unauthorized Immigrants: 2016 Highlights
An update on statesf latest policies and implementation efforts
November 22, 2016 - The Pew Charitable Trusts
Immigration and the States Project
By Adam Hunter and Angelo Mathay
In August 2015, The Pew Charitable Trusts produced a first-of-its-kind report
examining the experiences of states that issue alternative driverfs licenses to
unauthorized immigrants. The analysis explored the choices these jurisdictions
made on scope, eligibility standards, issuance procedures, and outreach and
education as they designed and implemented their laws. Although Pew takes no
position on federal, state, or local laws or policies related to immigration and
driverfs licenses, these data and insights can help other states make informed
choices about whether and how to enact and implement similar laws, and they
can better position those that have already implemented driverfs license
policies to evaluate their processes and make adjustments.
Pew has continued to examine
this issue, looking at available research on the impact of these laws and the
factors influencing how many alternative driverfs licenses states ultimately
issue. When Delaware and Hawaii passed legislation in 2015, Pew analyzed
the legislative language and provisions in both states, highlighting the key
design and implementation decisions.
This update looks at the developments of 2016 to investigate how states
consider new driverfs license laws, re-examine Delaware and Hawaii
post-implementation, and explore how jurisdictions make changes to their
driverfs license programs. The findings demonstrate continued activity on
driverfs license issues and how states can learn from each otherfs experiences.
Background
Until the 1990s, unauthorized immigrants were able to obtain driverfs
licenses anywhere in the United States. California became the first state to
enact a restriction on that access in 1993, followed by Arizona in 1996.
Forty-five states followed suit, altering their laws to require that driverfs
license applicants prove legal immigration status. By 2011, unauthorized
immigrants could obtain licenses only in New Mexico, Utah, and Washington state.
In 2013, the trend began to shift. Eight states—California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, and Vermont—and the District of
Columbia enacted laws establishing eligibility requirements that would allow
many unauthorized immigrants to obtain driverfs licenses. Those jurisdictions
considered their legislation in the context of the federal REAL ID Act, the 2005 law that created national standards
for state driverfs licenses that can be used for federal identification
purposes, such as to board a commercial aircraft. The REAL ID law allows states
to extend driving privileges to unauthorized immigrants, but only if the
licenses issued for this purpose are distinct from regular ones in specific
ways. In that context, the eight states opted to issue gdriving privilege
cards,h gdriver authorization cards,h or other alternative licenses. As of
November 2016, 12 states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii,
Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont, and Washington—and the
District of Columbia issue such driverfs licenses to unauthorized
immigrants.
2016 highlights
State policy updates
- Several states considered legislation in 2016 that would have allowed
unauthorized immigrants to obtain alternative driverfs licenses provided they
met certain requirements, but most states did not enact their bills. For
example:
- The Massachusetts Legislature considered H. 2985, which would have allowed unauthorized
immigrants to obtain driverfs licenses, as well as a competing bill, H.
3814, that would require driverfs license applicants to demonstrate
proof of lawful status. Ultimately, H. 2985 was not enacted, and language
from H. 3814 was enacted in the 2017 budget bill, effectively prohibiting unauthorized
immigrants from obtaining driverfs licenses.
- In Rhode Island, legislation was introduced in both
chambers of the Legislature that would have allowed alternative driverfs
licenses for unauthorized immigrants, but the bills, H. 7610 and S.B. 2333, were held for further study and not enacted.
- On March 8, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez signed
into law H.B. 99, creating a two-tiered, REAL ID-compliant driverfs
license system that allows certain unauthorized immigrants to obtain
alternative licenses if they provide fingerprints and pass a background check.
Before this law, New Mexico and Washington were the only states that provided
the same driverfs license to all individuals, regardless of status.
The
policy change was largely prompted by the federal governmentfs finalizing of
the timeline for REAL ID Act enforcement in January 2016. When announcing the deadline, Jeh Johnson, secretary of
homeland security, stated that airline passengers would need to present REAL
ID-compliant driverfs licenses beginning Jan. 22, 2018, unless a state had
received an extension or an individual had an alternative form of
identification, such as a passport, that the Transportation Security
Administration deemed acceptable to board a commercial domestic flight. Absent
such identification, passengers would be subject to additional screening.
New Mexico submitted a plan to the Department of Homeland Security outlining
how the new driverfs license system will be implemented and received an extension through October 2016. On Nov. 14, the state
began issuing driver authorization cards to eligible unauthorized
immigrants and is now compliant with the REAL ID law.
- Colorado lawmakers considered, but ultimately did not
enact, H.B. 16-1274, which would have made changes to the statefs
driverfs license law and provided funding to support application processing
and appointments at additional Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) sites. When
Colorado launched its program to provide alternative licenses in 2014, the DMV
accepted appointments for applications at five
of its 55 facilities. Although the number of facilities where the licenses
could be obtained fluctuated in early 2015, the state eventually settled on
just three
locations, where applicants reported prolonged waits for an
appointment.
- The District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles
modified the appointment and documentation requirements for alternative
licenses. Effective Aug. 2, 2016, the agency no longer requires appointments as part of the application
process, instead allowing walk-ins and appointments. It also indefinitely suspended implementation of a rule that would have
required all individuals seeking a first-time driverfs license—not only
unauthorized immigrants—to complete a private driver education course before
being eligible to obtain a license, in part to allow further review of the
likely impact of the provision. This removes a step in the process and
decreases the expense required to apply for a license in the District, though
the DMV reports that the primary barrier to obtaining a driverfs license for
unauthorized immigrants is passing the knowledge test.
Delaware and Hawaii began issuing driverfs licenses
- On June 30, 2015, Governor Jack Markell signed Delawarefs
driverfs
license bill into law. To be eligible for an alternative license, the
law requires, among other things, that unauthorized immigrants provide
fingerprints, have filed a state income tax return or been claimed as a
dependent for the preceding two years, and pass a criminal background check.
According to Scott Vien, director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, as of
Aug. 19, 2016, more than 1,900 unauthorized immigrants obtained a driving
permit or privilege card. Among the implementation challenges he mentioned is
educating applicants about eligibility requirements and documentation. He also
noted that to facilitate the new multiagency process required under the
Delaware law, the DMV, state police, and the Division of Revenue had to build
a new electronic interface.
- Governor David Ige signed Hawaiifs driverfs license bill into law on the same day that
Delaware enacted its law. Under H.B. 1007, applicants who are ineligible to
receive a Social Security number are required to provide a letter from the
Social Security Administration demonstrating that ineligibility, along with
either a government-issued photo ID or other documents designated by the
director. Hawaiifs Department of Transportation began accepting applications
for alternative driverfs licenses on Jan.
4, 2016. According to the chief licensing examiner and inspector for the
city and county of Honolulu, Ricky S. Akase, limited-purpose driverfs licenses
are now issued at all Hawaii DMV locations, except the four satellite DMV
sites.
As the federal REAL ID Act enforcement deadlines approach, 14 states have extensions through Oct.
10, 2017; four have limited extensions through June 6, 2017; one state is under
review; and eight are noncompliant. States are going to be making changes to
their driverfs licenses and may consider whether to allow unauthorized
immigrants to obtain them. As states make these choices, they can learn from the
experiences and approaches of other states through Pewfs driverfs
license research and analyses.
Adam Hunter directs and Angelo Mathay is a senior associate for The Pew
Charitable Trustsf immigration and the states project.