Alejandro Altamirano from Durango, Mexico, has called New Mexico residence for a dozen years, and it is where his 2 U.S.-born daughters are getting raised. But the 36-year-old dairy farmworker fears he will be forced into the shadows if he loses his driver’s license.
For years, New Mexico led in handing out driver’s licenses to folks suspected of becoming in the country illegally. Now, legislation to cease the practice is gaining traction in spite of a trend sweeping through a number of states to offer driving privileges to everybody regardless of their status.
Fresh off a political energy shift, the Republican-led Home of Representatives is poised to pass a measure repealing a 2003 law that made New Mexico one particular of the first states to supply licenses to immigrants regardless of status. However, the momentum could not matter because Senate Democrats have vowed to fight the legislation.
The battle comes in a state with the nation’s highest percentage of Latinos and the only Latina governor.
Proponents of the bill say polling indicates most New Mexicans want to reverse course and repeal the law. They argue it would assist avert fraud and bring the state into compliance with federal identification specifications.
Those who want to hold the law argue that operating households stand to get hurt if it’s repealed. They say other states that dole out licenses are not operating afoul of federal laws.
California this year began issuing driver’s licenses to immigrants who are in the country illegally, bringing the quantity of states that do so to 8. California expects 1.4 million people to apply for the licenses in the subsequent 3 years.
“It’s a product of many years and the need for driver’s licenses,” said Tanya Broder, senior staff lawyer with the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles. “From a policy perspective, it produced sense that all the drivers had been tested and licensed and insured and accountable for their driving records.”
Opponents say New Mexico has turn into a haven for these in search of to fraudulently receive driver’s licenses.
“These fraud operations involve the trafficking of humans to our state for the purpose of committing crimes and with no intention to live right here, they snatch up our license to take elsewhere, to areas unknown and for purposes unknown,” mentioned Mike Lonergan, spokesman for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
Martinez, the nation’s only Latina governor and a rising figure in the Republican Party, has been pushing to repeal the driver’s license law since she was first elected in 2010.
The governor and other individuals have stated it has failed to drive down the price of uninsured motorists as intended.
“We attempted the experiment, and it didn’t perform,” stated Rep. William “Bill” Rehm, R-Albuquerque. He says other states giving driver’s licenses to immigrants also will be out of compliance with federal law.
Democrats have blocked the repeal so far and query the Martinez administration’s efforts.
“They campaigned on the repeal, and they’re stuck fighting for repeal,” stated Rep. Antonio Maestas, D-Albuquerque. “They painted themselves in a political corner.”
Rep. Paul Pacheco, R-Albuquerque, whose repeal legislation is moving by way of the Property, stated a vast majority of New Mexicans want this “dangerous law off the books.”
His supporters point to a 2014 Albuquerque Journal poll saying 75 percent in the state opposed the law. Detractors point to other polls, saying a majority of Hispanic residents in New Mexico help giving licenses to folks regardless of status.
No research show these drivers are involved in fraud or terrorist activity, mentioned Matt Barreto, co-founder of the Seattle-based Latino Choices polling and study firm.
“You’ve got Republicans in the (New Mexico) Legislature in their largest numbers in a quite lengthy time it is a partisan situation plain and simple,” said Barreto, also a UCLA political science and Chicano studies professor.
Meanwhile, Altamirano waits, hoping he can maintain his driver’s license. Otherwise, it could imply losing his job, his residence and every thing he has worked toward.
“I will reside with more fear, and specifically a lot more fear of police when I drive,” he said.
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Driver’s Licenses For Immigrants Spur Debate in New Mexico
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