Utah issuing driving cards

A week ago, people without Social Security numbers rushed to the state Driver License Division in West Valley City to get their drivers' licenses.

They used an ITIN, or temporary tax number, as their identification number, and the division processed about 80 applications a day, said Doug Hunt, the supervisor of the largest Driver License Division in Utah.

Hunt told the Deseret Morning News that his office in West Valley City normally processes 50 to 60 applications a day for people who submit an ITIN. In the few weeks before SB227 was passed, that number jumped to 80.

Then SB227, which provides a driving privilege card to undocumented immigrants who can prove Utah residency and have an ITIN, was signed into law Tuesday.

Wednesday, his office processed eight driving privilege cards. Thursday: nine.

Doug McCleve, spokesman for the Utah Department of Public Safety, said he hopes the sharp decline isn't from fear of racial profiling.

State troopers won't automatically haul drivers using the driving privilege to jail, he said.

"First of all, it's against the Constitution to profile someone based on race," he said. "That's not what we're about."

McCleve said if someone feels victimized by a trooper, he can contact the department at 801-965-4437. He promised the department would investigate each case and take immediate action.

McCleve said it's not a trooper's job to focus on immigration, which is a federal issue. A trooper's job is safety on the state's highways.

"This is a driving privilege," he said.

People who apply for a driving privilege card will receive a temporary permit stamped in red ink with the words: "For driving only. Not for identification."

The permit is nearly identical to any normal temporary license for new drivers.

The driving privilege card, which haven't been designed yet, will eventually look quite different from a driver's license, McCleve said. But it will be hard plastic. The card costs the same as a driver's license and expires every year on the applicant's birthday.

Thursday afternoon, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. also signed into law another bill dealing with driving, but this one affects people who are legally residing in the United States.

HB223, which will allow those people to have a driver's license or identification card as long as they can prove Utah residency, takes effect July 1.

Anyone with a foreign visa, permit or other document granting legal presence in the United States may have a valid driver's license or identification card as long as all of those documents are valid.