Republicans Fight to Take Licenses Away from Immigrants in Utah

February 25, 2005 Tron Nick

The Utah Senate voted Friday to take driver's licenses away from people who cannot prove they are legal residents and issue them a driving "privilege" card instead. Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican, said he would support the bill. Hundreds of Hispanics and other immigrants protested the vote at the Capitol. Tony Yapias, who was director of the State Office of Hispanic Affairs under Governors Olene Walker and Michael O. Leavitt, both Republicans, said the measure amounted to second-class privileges, would encourage racial profiling, and would allow the police to corral the undocumented for deportation. Mr. Yapias said as many as 500 people were at the Capitol on Friday afternoon, filling the halls of the Capitol west wing and spilling outside on a plaza. It was a peaceful demonstration, without chants or placards. The Legislature has debated this topic for years; last year a bill to deny licenses to undocumented workers was defeated. Senators supporting the bill said they were alarmed by a legislative investigation that found that 58,000 undocumented workers, sometimes using common addresses, had Utah licenses, and that some noncitizens were able to register to vote and even cast ballots at the polls. One apartment in Salt Lake City was listed by 62 people who got a driver's license in the past year, raising the prospect of fraud, said the report, from Legislative Auditor General John Scharff. The driving "privilege" card, for anyone unable to prove legal residency, could not be used to board a plane, register to vote, obtain any other official identification, trade for a license in another state or obtain any trappings of citizenship. It would have to be renewed annually, and it would have different fonts and colors than a regular blue-colored driver's license. It would read, "For driving privileges only - not valid for identification." Utah is one of about 10 states that allows residents without a Social Security number to obtain a driver license by using an "individual tax identification number" issued by the Internal Revenue Service. [ more ] and [ more ]