Three states — Washington, New Mexico and Utah — allow illegal immigrants to get licenses because their laws do not require proof of citizenship or legal residency. An Associated Press analysis found that those states have seen a surge in immigrants seeking IDs in recent months, a trend experts attribute to crackdowns on illegal immigration in Arizona and elsewhere.
"It's difficult being undocumented and not having an identification," said Hernandez, of Puebla, Mexico. "You can use the Mexican ID, but people look down on it." An American driver's license is also a requirement for many jobs.
The immigration debate has thrown a spotlight on the license programs, which supporters say make financial sense because unlicensed drivers typically do not carry car insurance. Opponents insist the laws attract illegal immigrants and criminals.
"Washington state and New Mexico have been magnet states for the fraudulent document brokers, human traffickers and alien smugglers for years," said Brian Zimmer, president of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, a nonprofit research group in Washington, D.C.
State officials in New Mexico dispute that claim.
He said there is mounting evidence that the spike in license applications is a result of pressure on immigrants in states such as Arizona and Oklahoma, where police have been authorized to help enforce federal immigration laws.
Republican lawmakers in New Mexico and Washington state have pushed to tighten the laws in recent years, only to be thwarted by Democrats.
4 comments:
I've noticed a lot more around here .
Not so in Selbyville. I see alot of houses that were rented for years by hispanics, now empty. The chicken plant (the main employer of hispanics) used to be overrun with mexicans, but in the last 4 months or so, I've noticed alot more blacks and whites going into work there, like it used to be 20 years ago. The few chinese that I used to see are "ALL" gone now.
Maybe you don't see as many around here because Maryland wont give them a drivers license anymore. They stopped doing that in June or July of 2009. I know I see a TON of them in the grocery stores at the beginning of the month. I try to make sure I have my shopping done before or after so I dont have to deal with them. It just ticks me off that we are giving them everything.
Keep going after Latinos. That's a great idea.
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