California and feds at standoff over licenses
By Roxana Kopetman, The Orange County Register | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
It's not just a question of semantics. And the ramifications could eventually affect all
Federal officials last month rejected
The two sides appear to be at a standoff.
There may be more at stake than the new licenses for
The license
State legislators adopted AB60 last year, paving the way for some 1.4 million people living in the state without legal authority to have the right to apply for a driver's license by
Supporters argued that it will improve safety with more drivers educated about the ways of the road and obligated to carry insurance. Opponents argued that people who broke federal law by living in the country illegally should not be rewarded by the state with a driver's license.
One of the arguments involves what constitutes the "face" of a license.
Under the federal REAL ID Act, which aims to create national standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards, the license must meet certain standards, including language on the "face" of the license that it is not to be used for official federal purposes. The
"We're trying to make a point that the model we produced is different enough from the legacy driver's license that it shouldn't be a problem for people who work at airports and federal buildings," said
"Both the front and the back are the face of the driver's license," said
Immigrant-rights supporters worry that if the new license is too blatantly different from regular licenses, this could lead to discrimination and even discourage people from applying for one.
"Our argument is basically we feel it's a secure license and it's easy to distinguish between one and the other," Botello said.
DHS officials are far from convinced. In a letter to advocacy groups dated
"However, we have also consistently required all states to place such markings on the front of the document. ... DHS considers the term 'face'...to be synonymous with the front of the card," the officials wrote.
"It's so absurd. There's no identifying feature about me whatsoever on the back of my license. That's idiotic," said Rosenberg, who runs unlicensedtokill.org. His son was killed by an unlicensed driver with a protective immigration status.
REAL ID Act
The REAL ID Act is the product of the post-9/11 era. It was created in 2005 to boost national security and establish standards for state-issued driver licenses and identification cards. It has not proved popular with many states, organizations and individuals who view it as a national identification card that will create red tape and needless expense, while impacting citizens' privacy. Only 21 states have met the standards and 21 more, including
DHS is phasing in enforcement. The final phase will go into effect after
"They're simply going to have to get another document to go to the airport," said
"They will be compliant if they can solve this one card issue," Zimmer said.
"Getting a big state like
Assemblyman
"People are anticipating we're going to work through and we're going to get this program up and running. There's a lot of excitement from the immigrant community that we do this and we do it right," he said.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or [email protected]
___
(c)2014 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Visit The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) at www.ocregister.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 1181 |
Regulators looking at party bus contracting after window incident
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News