Activists: Keep allowing licenses for undocumented

UNM students will join activists from around the state to protect undocumented-resident access to driver’s licenses and higher education.

HB 78 will be a hot-button issue at the Immigration Day of Action in Santa Fe on Wednesday, said Christopher Ramirez, a representative for UNM Coalition for Immigration, Race and Social Justice.

“When we talk of immigration issues, we are talking about the larger picture of race, about structural racism, and we are talking about immigrants being used in this power play,” Ramirez said.

If passed, the bill would require applicants to have social security numbers in order to obtain a New Mexico driver’s license. The current law allows undocumented residents to use taxpayer identification numbers instead of social security numbers.

Ramirez said allowing non-U.S. citizens to get licenses is an effective measure for keeping insurance rates down and the roads safe. He said New Mexico would lose a lot of the revenue from license-related services, such as fines and renewals.

Rep. Andy Nunez (D-Hatch) said he sponsored the bill because people abuse the law on the books now.

“People were trafficked in from all over to the Village of Hatch, in carloads to get their license,” Nunez said. “Then they use their New Mexico license to get licenses in other states.”

Rep. Bill Rehm, (R-Albuquerque) said he plans to introduce driver’s license legislation that would place restrictions on the law in place now but would not prevent undocumented foreign nationals from obtaining licenses altogether. Under his proposal, undocumented drivers would get a one-year renewable permit. Rehm said the permits would have restrictions.

“It is not a government ID,” he said. “It is a driving permit. It allows you to register a car and obtain vehicle insurance. I am trying to make a pathway, but not give a terrorist a driver’s license that is an official government identification to get on planes and open up bank accounts.”

Ramirez said the group will also confront lawmakers about rumors concerning the possible repeal of SB 582, which allows students who have lived in the state for one year before earning a high school diploma or GED to receive state-funded financial aid regardless of immigration status.

“It’s not about driver’s licenses,” Ramirez said. “It is not about funding for education. We know it is about race. … We don’t want to be a part of a community divided by race.”