The recent decision by the Joint Budget Committee in Colorado’s legislature to restrict funding for a program that grants driver’s licenses and ID cards to all residents regardless of immigration status was a shocking and inappropriate use of budgetary powers to advance partisan positions and, in the end, it is a decision that benefits no one.
Putting aside for the moment the debate about whether certain people should be present in the U.S. — because it is a moot point in this case and a debate that will never be settled — let’s consider the reality that there are in Colorado somewhere around 150,000 undocumented immigrants who would be eligible for a driver’s license or ID card. They are here and they are driving.
In our rural communities, public transportation and other forms of getting around are unavailable or unfeasible, and driving a car is a necessity for work, school, medical appointments, and (importantly) getting to Denver or Albuquerque for the appointments required for someone to change their immigration status.
Without a license, these people are unable to purchase car insurance, register their vehicles in their own names or obtain license plates. The committee’s decision has ensured that Colorado’s roads will be full of unlicensed and uninsured drivers, which puts all of us at risk. It also makes it much harder for law enforcement to perform its duties to serve and protect their communities when people do not have valid identification. But we know all of this already, because we had this debate in 2013 and Colorado’s General Assembly approved the law.
It is also worth noting that $166,000 of the funds requested were collected through fees charged for the licenses that have already been issued under the program and are earmarked for the purpose of expanding the program. As defined in the legislation that created the program, it costs the state nothing and is only funded through these fees (which are three times the fees a citizen pays for his license). What is the objection, then?
One committee member explained his vote by saying he thought that the state was condoning unlawful behavior. In reality, undocumented immigrants are in no way violating the laws of the state of Colorado by being present here. They do violate state law if they drive without licenses or insurance, so by restricting access to licenses, this decision actually leads to a lot more unlawful behavior.
And can we really claim that Colorado always ensures its residents always comply with federal law? Will these same committee members vote to defund marijuana enforcement?
For several months now, the Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center has been assisting local immigrant families as they seek to obtain licenses and ID cards. We have had to travel to Grand Junction, as this was the closest of the five Division of Motor Vehicle offices in the state that offered licenses under this program. As things stand now, funding to maintain staff at that location will expire at the end of February and now 150,000 people will have to fight for the 31 appointments offered each day in Denver.
Assuming anyone in our region can even obtain an appointment, how would the JBC suggest that this person get to Denver without a license or insurance?
If the new Republican Senate majority wants to reconsider this issue, there is an established way of doing so: proposing a bill, having debate, and holding a vote among all members of both houses. Restricting funding to a program that was approved by both houses and signed by the governor is a sneaky and dishonest way of advancing partisan ends at the expense of all Coloradans.
Danny Quinlan is executive director of Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center in Durango.
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