Gibson, Titus back driver’s licenses

Timothy Pratt and J. Patrick Coolican

Monday, June 5, 2006 | 7:17 a.m.

Although immigration law is largely the responsibility of the federal government, one area of Nevada state statutes could greatly impact the lives of illegal immigrants: driver's licenses.

Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson supports giving drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants and state Sen. Dina Titus, Democratic candidates for governor, would back giving driver's licenses to immigrants enrolled in programs that may come out of the current congressional debate.

Sen. Bob Beers of Las Vegas and Rep. Jim Gibbons, Republicans in the race, oppose the idea. Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, the other Republican, could not be reached because of a medical procedure.

Gibson said the issue is one of public safety.

"I think it's important to teach people the driving rules, make them take the test, make sure they know what they're doing on the roadways (and) we can make sure everyone is insured."

Driver's licenses have been part of the nation's swirling debate on immigration. Many people say the document's role as a de facto national ID makes it a benefit that should be off-limits to people in the country illegally.

Though Gibson mentioned his support for the idea in a late February meeting of politically-active Hispanics who call themselves Amigos de Gibson, the Henderson mayor hasn't been high profile with the issue.

Previous attempts in the Nevada Legislature to make it possible for undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses have failed.

Titus backed legislation in 2003 that would allow certain private and public entities - but not the Department of Motor Vehicles - to accept ID cards issued by the Mexican consulate. She said she now prefers to wait to see if Congress approves a guest worker program and path to citizenship. If so, she said she would favor giving licenses to immigrants in those programs.

Nationwide, all but 10 states require applicants for driver's licenses to show some proof of legal residency in the United States.

Utah is one of those 10 states. Beginning in 1997, it began offering licenses to undocumented immigrants by allowing them to use a federal taxpayer identification number as a substitute for the Social Security number.

The document was modified last year and is now called a "Driving Privileges Card," stamped "not valid for ID."

Mike Martinez, a Utah attorney who worked on the original legislation for the license, said it is used to open bank accounts and for other purposes but cannot be used to board a plane.

About 80,000 such cards are issued in Utah each year, Martinez said.

In California the issue has been debated in the Legislature for several years. Based on security concerns, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a 2005 bill that would give licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Regardless of whether Gibson or Titus become Nevada's next governor, the federal Real ID Act of 2005 stipulates that all states must begin requiring proof of permission to be in the country before issuing driver's licenses - by May 2008.

Several states have been opposing this and other provisions in the law, however. Rules governing how the law should be carried out are expected by the end of 2006.