The Advocate

Immigrant Driver's Permits:
A Perilous Two-Tier System

Valeria Treves
“I think I am going to ask Mr. Mateo a favor. Maybe he can send me a sign spelling: I-L-L-E-G-A-L. That way I can just put it on my back!,” exclaimed a NYC taxi driver as a group of workers, community members and activists discussed the perils of “Immigrant Driver’s Permits” or IDPs. IDPs, which would literally tag the licenses of undocumented immigrants, creating a two-tier system, are an inadequate solution for the thousand of New York State immigrant drivers now facing the threat of license revocation.

Citing the enforcement of a 1995 law designed to find “deadbeat dads,” the DMV began a massive effort in late 2003 to cross-reference data with the Social Security Administration. As a result, hundreds of thousands of “warning of suspension” letters have been issued to individuals who allegedly provided inaccurate social security numbers when they obtained their drivers licenses. According to The New York Times, this could lead to the revocation of nearly a quarter of a million licenses, most of which are held by immigrants, who have not yet been issued a social security number. While there is nothing in the New York state legislature that actually disallows undocumented immigrants from getting a driver’s license, DMV restrictions create de facto legal immigration status requirements. Not surprisingly, the Bloomberg administration and the DMV are citing security concerns for the crackdown, explaining that many of the 9/11 hijackers held valid driver’s licenses. However, holding an immigrant driver’s license does not necessarily make one a terrorist. Eugenio, a NYC taxi driver, says: “They are sup
posedly looking for terrorists, but we are not terrorists.”

“I don’t doubt the intelligence capabilities of this country,” he continues, “so if they really wanted to weed out the terrorists, this would not be the way to do it.” Further, the revocation of licenses are bound to make the streets more unsafe as thousands of immigrants, from taxi drivers, to truck drives to many others who must continue to work to earn their livelihood are potentially forced to drive without a license and thus without insurance.

While the DMV crackdown has become a major problem, the proposed Immigrant Drivers Permit solution gives immigrants and their advocates even more cause for worry. The proposal comes from Fernando Mateo, a self-described “rags-to-riches” Republican entrepreneur that leads an organization called “Hispanics Across America.” Mateo, an enthusiastic speaker at August’s Republican National Convention, is well positioned to convince Republican Governor Pataki and the legislature that IDPs are a good idea. In Tennessee, where a similar proposal led to state-issued “certificates of driving,” (purple cards which look nothing like regular licenses, and marked "For Driving Purposes Only, Not Valid for Identification" across the top) the results have been less than favorable. According to Amy Sugimori of the National Employment Law Project, “Early findings have identified problems with the use of immigrant drivers’ permits including: insurance companies not willing to cover people with permits; concern that police who stop drivers with a permit will not accept it as valid identification and will arrest them; and the denial of Equal Protection by creating a different system for immigrants.” The same problems that are arising in Tennessee are likely to arise in New York as well.

To issue Immigrant Driver’s Permits separately from regular driver’s licenses would mean the creation of a two-class system for city residents, leading to likely discrimination by police officers, insurance companies and the general public. Furthermore, since the proposed IDP could not be used for identification purposes, thousands of immigrants would be left without a means to identify themselves to state and local officials. The lack of proper ID could also impair immigrant’s abilities to do things such as open a bank account or even enter a secure building. Lastly, Fernando Mateo’s IDP proposal covers only those who already have a license, meaning that people who do not fulfill the de facto immigration requirements to get a license would not even be eligible for an IDP. For a city with large documented and undocumented immigrant populations, these consequences could prove disastrous.

While the IDPs and similar programs have been touted as a way to “balance” security needs with the needs of immigrant drivers, the denial of proper identification offers security for no one. Instead of equating undocumented immigrants with possible security threats, state legislatures should remove lawful presence restrictions, expand the list of documents that prove one’s identity, and thus provide equal access to driver’s licenses for all.

Valeria Treves is a graduate student in Geography at Hunter College of the City University of New York. All translations from the Spanish in this article are the work of the author.