Lawmakers try to make it easier for immigrants to get driver’s licenses – Greeley Tribune

In this August 1, 2014 file photo, Rosalva Mireles, an immigrant and long-time resident of the United States, is photographed by Jesus Sanchez of the Spanish-language newspaper El Commercio after Mireles was processed for her permanent driver’s license and issued a temporary driver’s license to use until it’s waiting at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Denver. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, file)

Immigrants who are in the country without authorization or have temporary legal status have been able to obtain Colorado driver’s licenses and IDs for nearly a decade, but now lawmakers want to expand the program to make it even more accessible.

The law establishing the program — which is paid for by applicants’ fees — was passed in 2013 and went into effect in 2014, making Colorado the 11th state to implement such a policy. And in 2019, the governor signed another law to increase the number of DMV locations that offer the licenses. The legislation was supported by farmers, dairy farmers and business owners who said it would make it easier for their employees to go to work and operate machinery. Others also supported the measure because it would encourage more people to get driving instruction, and they could get car insurance and registration.

If Senate Bill 24-182 passes this year, the bill would simplify the requirements for who can apply to obtain state IDs, including removing the requirement that immigrants be residents of Colorado for at least two years. This means that newcomers, such as migrants from Venezuela, could also apply for the program.

“The reality is this has always been a contradiction,” said Siena Mann, policy director for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. “We really want people to have a permit and be safe on our roads, but you have to wait two years.”

The purpose of the proposed changes, Mann said, is to make them more consistent with the requirements for U.S. citizens obtaining these IDs.

Since 2014, the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition has worked with the Department of Revenue to streamline the process and help lawmakers make changes to the program. Agency spokesman Derek Kuhn said he could not comment on pending legislation.

This year’s bill aims to make it easier to verify applicants’ identities and shorten the time they have to wait to obtain a permit, Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat and bill sponsor, told lawmakers during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this month. Her fellow sponsor, Democratic Sen. Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village, said the program imposes onerous documentation requirements and requires some immigrants, including those with legal status, to wait years before they can get permits.

“Eleven years ago, this state recognized in a bipartisan manner that it doesn’t matter where you were born when obtaining a driver’s license,” Gonzales said. “It really matters if you know the rules of the road and ensuring that drivers on our roads… can securely obtain credentials from our Ministry of Finance is important.”

Advocates have also cited the benefit of more drivers on the road having insurance, which could help lower premiums for all drivers. The Colorado State Patrol was among the backers of the latest proposal because of its benefits to traffic safety and because it could help law enforcement identify people more easily.

An expansion of the program would also mean immigrants have more access to employment, Sophie Shea of ​​the Colorado Fiscal Institute noted during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on April 12.

“Research shows that a lack of access to a driver’s license means people spend more time getting around and less time making purchases, including larger items like homes, vehicles or appliances,” Shea said. “Additionally, access to driver’s licenses promotes economic mobility by expanding employment options because that person can seek work where there are more opportunities, which may be further from home.”

The Colorado Fiscal Institute reported that the 2014 law resulted in approximately 170,000 additional vehicle registrations, increasing state and local government revenues and saving Colorado drivers an estimated $127 million annually in insurance premiums.

Between August 2014 and February 2024, the DMV issued 279,914 permits, licenses and IDs under the program, according to data provided to The Denver Post by the Department of Revenue. Nearly 4.5 million people in Colorado had permits in 2022, data shows.

Only one person, Erin Meschke of Boulder, spoke against the legislation during the Senate committee hearing. She said lawmakers should not make it easier for immigrants to obtain permits if they have broken immigration laws. However, because the 2014 law had already been passed, it asked that only official documents from immigrants’ countries of origin be accepted to verify identity, so that immigrants do not try to vote with their ID.

Mann clarified that the legislation does not change anyone’s federal immigration status or give him or her the right to vote.

For Jennifer Villalba of Douglas County, getting the permit “changed her life.”

“Believe me when I say that something as simple as getting a driver’s license, which an American citizen can do at the age of 16, was such a significant achievement for me – the equivalent of getting a college degree, but it was also almost so difficult. she told lawmakers.

In addition to waiting two years and preparing all her documents, she then had to wait three months for an appointment. When she arrived at her appointment, the DMV asked her for a document she didn’t know she needed, so she walked out that day without a permit. She had to wait several months for a second appointment, but she said it was worth it.

Villalba was able to buy a car, carry an ID to identify herself when she went to her daughter’s school and drive herself to work.

SB 24-182 passed the first two committees, with support from Democratic lawmakers and one Republican. It now awaits final approval in the Senate before moving to the House of Representatives for consideration.

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