AZMEX POLICY 23-5-12

AZMEX POLICY 23 MAY 2012

Note: Driver's license still primary ID for buying firearms.

Colorado May Vote on Driver's Licenses for Undocumented Migrants
Published May 23, 2012
EFE

A coalition of immigrants' defense organizations has launched a
campaign in favor of Initiative 52, which - if approved in November -
would give driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants in Colorado.
For Initiative 52 to be included on the ballot in November, the
campaign must collect slightly more than 86,000 signatures from
registered voters before Aug. 6.
Driver's Licenses for All asks that "all residents of Colorado,
although they may not be able to prove legal residence in the state,
be able to obtain a driver's license or an identity card," if they
fulfill certain conditions, said Jose Sanchez, the press coordinator
for the campaign.
Those requirements, Sanchez said, include "proving that they have
contributed to Colorado," that is, by having paid taxes, as well as
having valid identity documents and being able to prove that the
person seeking the license lives in the state by, for example,
presenting utility bills in their name.
At a minimum, undocumented people who want to get a driver's license
will have to obtain their taxpayer identification number, known as
ITIN, to have paid taxes in Colorado for at least one year and to
have a passport, birth certificate or other document issued by the
immigrant's country of origin.
It is necessary for undocumented people to receive the licenses,
Sanchez said, because "they are driving anyway," and so "it would be
better for the public for those drivers to have licenses and to be
able to buy insurance for their cars."
"We estimate that up to 150,000 residents of Colorado would qualify
for the state ID or the driver's license if Initiative 52 is
approved," the spokesman said.
Up until 1999, all Colorado residents could obtain driver's licenses
or ID cards without regard for their immigration status. But starting
in that year, people requesting those documents had to prove that
they were in the country legally.
The laws changed again in 2006, when - as part of the so-called
"state immigration reform" - new restrictions and requirements were
implemented for obtaining the licenses, including, for example,
presenting an original birth certificate.
New Mexico and Washington are the only two states that provide
driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. In Utah, undocumented
people can receive Driving Privilege Cards, but not licenses. EFE

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/05/22/colorado-
may-vote-on-driver-licenses-for-undocumented-migrants/?
test=latestnews#ixzz1vhpIVDOr