From Deseret News archives:
Immigration bills would require classes, fees
Undocumented workers could get driver's license
Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, said HB316 would require undocumented workers to enroll in the "specialized immigrant service program" and HB130 would provide an income-tax subtraction for the company that oversees the program.
Utah allows illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses using an Individual Tax Identification Number issued by the Internal Revenue Service. The other way to obtain a license is using a Social Security number.
Tilton said his bill would help track the actual impact undocumented immigrants have on the state's social systems. He added that as much as 90 percent of the immigrants' $25 to $50 monthly fee would go to the state. The immigrants would attend a monthly English course.
Some within the Hispanic community said they were concerned about the monthly fee. They also expressed concern about a private company overseeing the database, especially since the legislation is vague about the mechanics.
The bipartisan Utah Hispanic Legislative Task Force won't support Tilton's bill, co-chairwoman Luz Robles said.
She said the task force had concerns about oversight, noting the bills are vague about implementation. Robles said the fees also seem excessive, because many immigrants would be required to pay them for several years.
"That's a lot of money for one English class," she said.
The Task Force did decide Thursday to "reluctantly support" another driver's license bill, SB227, introduced Wednesday by Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo.
That bill would repeal Utah's law allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses, and would require them to instead obtain a driving card that could not be used for any identification purposes.
Robles said some organizations within the task force may disagree on Bramble's bill. She acknowledged the need to prevent fraud. Robles also expressed concerns, based on a similar Tennessee law, about racial profiling and insurance agencies' willingness to insure drivers with such a license.
Both bills were introduced after the release of a state audit that preliminarily shows dozens of licenses have been issued to individuals from the same address, and that undocumented immigrants may be registering to vote.
Tilton and Senate co-sponsor Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, acknowledged the bills break new ground and there's no way to know if they'll be a success.
Stephenson said, "It is an idea worthy of experiment."
The audit suggested that "Utah has become a portal through which undocumented aliens can obtain a widely accepted form of identification."
Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, has introduced his own bill, HB223, which would give legal residents who aren't eligible to work, such as those on student visas or foreign workers at Hill Air Force Base, a way to get a driver's license.
Oda's bill unanimously passed out of the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Standing Committee Thursday.
Bramble said while he and Oda are trying to solve different problems, "I'm certain we'll be able to meet both objectives."
E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com
