Immigrants living in the District of Columbia illegally can now obtain drivers licenses in the District after the D.C. Council voted to pass the D.C. Drivers Safety Amendment Act on Nov. 5.
“D.C. has decided to ensure access to drivers licenses for all D.C. residents, regardless of immigration status. That’s incredibly important,” D.C. Immigrant Rights Coalition Coordinator Salvador Sarmiento said. “That’s going to affect thousands of people’s lives in D.C. for the better.”
The bill, introduced by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson at the request of Mayor Vincent Gray, will create a two-tiered ID system, in which these licenses will be marked: “not for federal purposes.”
“I personally think that it was a disappointment not to have one license because it puts in it an understanding of racial profiling,” said Jackie Reyes, the Director of Latino Affairs for Councilmember Jim Graham.
D.C. is already a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants, since Mayor Gray signed an order in 2011 stopping police officers from inquiring about residents’ immigration status unless it is directly relevant to a criminal investigation.
The adoption of the original two-tiered legislation came as a shock to many constituents.
“I was surprised two weeks ago when we first heard that the Transportation Committee Chair Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) was backpedaling from her initial strong statement in favor of one license,” Sarmiento said.
Hoyas for Immigrant Rights President Citlalli Alvarez (COL ’16) noted her disappointment with the new law.
“This bill was diluted. True, undocumented immigrants will now be able to attain licenses, but they will be marked. These licenses will not be ‘equal,’” Alvarez wrote in an email.
Others viewed Cheh’s actions as a reasonable compromise considering the restrictions of federal law.
“She was trying to do the best she could to create an ID option for people who weren’t otherwise able to get one, but not to also jeopardize the status of everyone else’s,” General Counsel for Councilmember Jack Evans’ Office Kevin Stogner said, adding that Cheh intends to make sure that the markings will be nondescript in order to minimize any resulting discrimination from the different license types.
“I’m not surprised that they ended up creating the two tier license system so the license would be labeled that they’re not federal I.D.,” department of government professor Mark Rom said. “I imagine the strategic calculation of the council was this is not an issue that we’re going to challenge the feds on.”
In order for immigrants living in the country illegally to be able to obtain a license when they apply, they will be required to provide a valid foreign passport, birth certificate or tax identification number. Additionally, applicants may only apply if they have lived in D.C. for a minimum of six months.
Because the two-tiered system officially identifies illegal immigrants, the question remains as to whether these immigrants will be hesitant in applying.
“They’ll keep driving for sure because people have to get to get to work, go to the store and get their kids to school. The driving will continue pretty much unchanged, how many licenses will be applied for — that’s the big question,”
