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Utah recently enacted a law that restricts driver’s license eligibility to
applicants with a Social Security number (SSN). Applicants without an SSN are
now eligible for a “driving privilege card” that will bear on its face the
following notation: “for driving purposes
only. not valid for identification.” The new law took effect Mar. 8,
2005, and was modeled after Tennessee’s policy of restricting the issuance of
driver’s licenses only to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees,
parolees, and asylees, and issuing only “driving certificates” to all other
applicants (see “New Tennessee Law Creates ‘Driving Certificate’ for Most Noncitizens,” Immigrants’ Rights Update,
Aug. 9, 2004, p. 3).
Before the new Utah law
took effect, all applicants, regardless of their immigration status, were
eligible for a driver’s license if they could provide documentation of their
identity and their residence in the state. The new law is a misguided response
to a questionable report issued by the state’s auditor general in Feb. 2005,
finding potential incidents of voter registration and state residency fraud.
Instead of reforming the voter registration process and tightening up the
process by which people living in Utah can prove they are residents of the
state, the new law undermines a policy that has greatly benefited Utah, and it
jeopardizes the safety and security of all Utah residents.
The new law states that
the driving privilege card must be distinct from the driver’s license in its
format, color, the fonts with which it is printed, or in other ways.
Additionally, the driving privilege card must say on its face that it may not be
used for identification. The card will expire each year on the birth date of
the person to whom it is issued. The new cards will be issued beginning on July
1, 2005. Until then, applicants without SSNs will receive temporary cards that
expire in six months and have a red stamp on them that reads, “For driving
only—not for identification.”
Since the new Utah law
is modeled on the Tennessee law, advocates expect the same problems to occur in
Utah that exist in Tennessee as a result of its law. Problems in Tennessee
include:
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Insurance companies refusing to issue
car insurance, or charging exorbitantly high rates because the driving
certificate is considered a second class driving permit, according to a report
in the Jan. 14, 2005, issue of The Tennessean.
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Police officers wasting law
enforcement resources by arresting drivers for minor traffic violations
rather than issuing citations, because under state law the driving certificate
is not a valid proof of identity, and a citation can be issued only if a person
has proper ID.
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Foreign business executives deciding
not to move to Tennessee because they are afraid of how they would be
treated if they have a driving certificate.
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Driver’s license officials being
forced to serve as immigration officials and denying licenses and
certificates improperly to eligible non–U.S. citizens and citizens
because they do not understand how to interpret immigration documents, or even
whether an applicant is a U.S. citizen.
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Immigrants not applying for the
driving certificate because they fear discrimination and being reported to
immigration authorities.
More information about
the problems with the Tennessee driving certificate is available on NILC’s
website, at
www.nilc.org/immspbs/DLs/TPs_TN_driving_certif_0305.pdf.
For an overview of driver’s license–related policy in all 50 states, see
www.nilc.org/immspbs/DLs/state_dl_rqrmts_ovrvw_031705.pdf.
By
Tyler Moran, NILC policy
analyst
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