Rule requiring Texas drivers to prove citizenship is now law Rule requiring drivers to prove citizenship now law

But some in Texas House say the measure is a threat to civil liberties

As the House early last month debated a must-pass finance bill, one member slipped in language that puts into law a controversial Texas Department of Public Safety policy requiring driver's license applicants to show they're in the country legally.

The amendment, added by Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, to the education funding bill legislators needed to balance the state budget had originally been included in Senate Bill 9, the so-called "sanctuary cities" bill that failed in the special session. It also had appeared in an omnibus homeland security bill by Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, that died in the regular session.

The new law approved last Tuesday makes some tweaks to a 2008 DPS policy that prevents illegal immigrants from getting a driver's license and created a special license for temporary visitors. The rules require Texans applying for or renewing their license to show they are citizens or are in the country legally.

By putting it into law the state potentially undermines an ongoing lawsuit that argues DPS doesn't have authority to check legal status. Across the nation, only New Mexico and Washington don't have similar policies.

"From the standpoint of anyone who's renewing their license, really it's not going to be anything different," Williams said.

License linked to visa

He said the bill fixes problems with the DPS policy that had resulted in some legal visitors being denied licenses. And those who have proved their citizenship go into a DPS database and won't have to do so again, Williams said.

The bills biggest change is that it allows DPS to tie the expiration dates of driver's licenses to immigrants' legal status, so their licenses expire at the same time as their visas.

But some House members decried the language after the bill passed last week, saying it impinges on civil liberties and keeps those who can't show legal status from getting insurance, heaping costs on Texas drivers.

"Why do I have to be questioned about my citizenship?" said Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston. "You know I'm an American. Would they question someone that's blonde haired and blue eyed?"

Proof of lawful presence

According to the DPS website, drivers can still renew online if they are a U.S. citizen and have their Social Security number on file with the department. Drivers who haven't renewed in person at a drivers' license office in the past six years may be asked to present proof of lawful presence.

Rep. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said his problems with the new law — and the DPS policy - pale in comparison to his concerns about the failed sanctuary cities bill, but he's no fan of the driver's license rules.

"Does this mean fewer people are going to go in and get their driver's license and fewer people are going to get insurance? That's a negative," he said.

Thinking of leaving state

Vikrant Gandhi, who immigrated to the U.S. from India in 2005 and is a market researcher and consultant in San Antonio, said his wife's driver's license identifies her as a temporary visitor, something he said could lead to her being treated differently when she has to show ID. They're considering moving to Colorado, Gandhi said.

"I'm not against them checking" the status of those applying for a license, he said. "But my thought is why does anyone who looks at my license need to know that?"

Luis Figueroa, the legislative affairs attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which is involved in a lawsuit challenging the DPS rules, said that the department's policy kept some people who should have received licenses - like citizens who were delivered by a midwife or visitors who have legal status DPS isn't familiar with - from getting them and he's not sure the new law will change that.

"We've gotten hundreds of complaints of people getting the wrong licenses, people having to keep coming back and bringing more documents and people getting denied licenses," Figueroa said.

But Williams says the new law takes steps to address those concerns. It requires DPS to make the licenses for temporary visitors look similar to other licenses. It also creates temporary visitors stations at DPS offices in major metropolitan areas and along the border that would be staffed by clerks who are trained to review immigration documents.

jbuch@express-news.net