INS ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR STATES TO DENY DRIVER’S LICENSES TO UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS

The INS has issued a notice prescribing guidelines under which states may conduct pilot programs to deny driver’s licenses and identification cards to aliens who are not lawfully present in the US. The guidelines reflect provisions in the new Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 which call for such programs.

The guidelines include the following provisions:

• the program must provide for the denial of driver’s licenses and identification cards to illegal aliens
• the program must require the accurate verification of whether the applicant is lawfully present in the US
• the program must not illegally discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, religion, age, or disability or otherwise violate the law
• the program must not violate any state laws
• the program must be designed to result in a determination of the “viability, advisability, and cost-effectiveness of the state’s denying driver’s licenses and identification cards to illegal aliens

 

The INS notice contains a summary of one program the agency found “promising.” The program called for applicants to state on their applications whether they are citizens, non-citizens, or nationals of the US and to present proof of their identity and citizenship or immigration status. The INS will make available a computerized immigration records system to provide information on immigrant status.

No reference is made in the document concerning whether states could provide information on illegal alien applicants to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

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