SANTA FE, N.M.: Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration has agreed to settle a lawsuit and not revive a plan to cancel the driver’s licenses of immigrants who fail to verify whether they still live in the state.
The administration announced the program last year but it was suspended by a state district court in Santa Fe after the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a lawsuit. District Judge Sarah Singleton issued an order permanently blocking the program and stopping the administration from canceling licenses of any immigrants initially checked unless the state has evidence of fraud.
“We are elated to report that this discriminatory program, which was born out of ill-will and bad politics, has met a swift end,” David Hinojosa, southwest regional counsel for MALDEF, said in a statement. “New Mexicans who have validly obtained their licenses can be assured that they will not be targeted based on their nationality.”
At the time of the program, only New Mexico and Washington allowed illegal immigrants to obtain the same driver’s license as a U.S. citizen. Utah grants immigrants a driving permit that can’t be used for identification.
A driver’s license can help people open bank accounts or board a commercial airliner. A newly enacted law in California will offer driver’s licenses to young immigrants qualifying for federal work permits.
Scott Darnell, a spokesman for the governor, said the administration agreed to the court order and resolve the lawsuit because the license verification program would have been suspended for months if there had been a trial and appeals. The governor plans to push again in next year’s Legislature to try to stop the state from issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
The state sent out about 10,000 letters last year to foreign nationals with driver’s licenses asking them to schedule appointments to recertify whether they were New Mexico residents.
A 2003 law allows foreign nationals without a Social Security number to obtain a driver’s license. More than 100,000 licenses have been issued but the state says it doesn’t know how many have gone to illegal immigrants because it doesn’t ask the immigration status of license applicants.
The governor contends that many immigrants came to New Mexico solely to obtain a license and then left the state. About 30 percent of those letters were returned as undeliverable for some reason, including that there was no forwarding address for an individual.
A spokesman for the Taxation and Revenue Department said no licenses have been canceled so far because of the program to verify a license holder’s residency. -AP
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