Driving card spurs questions, tears in Salt Lake

It was standing room only at the Mexican civic center Thursday night as hundreds of members of the Latino community gathered to have questions answered about the new driver's license law.

People lined up to shoot concerns at a panel comprised of community leaders and representatives from the Salt Lake City Police Department, the driver license division and immigration department.

There were tears, questions and claims of injustice, but some said they appreciated community leaders attending the meeting and offering help even though they disagreed with the law.

The law replaces illegal immigrants' drivers' licenses and state identification cards with driving privilege cards that can't be used as identification within government entities.

Applicants must be able to prove they are Utah residents and must be obtained by anyone who does not qualify for a Social Security number.

Starting July 1, the driving privilege card would also be available to legal immigrants not eligible to work, such as students.

Many were concerned about how they would be treated by law enforcement if they were to be pulled over with only a driving privilege card. But Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said there would be no difference and their legal status will not be questioned.

"I expect that our contacts in the community won't be treated any differently than they were before," Dinse said. "Nothing in our procedures is going to change as a result of this requirement."

In the past, drivers' licenses were primarily used as a form of identification, but the new cards, though they will physically look like traditional licenses, will read "not valid for identification."

Employers may take that as a red flag and will know that the person does not qualify for a Social Security card, said Yvette Diaz, executive director of the Department of Community and Culture.

Some asked if they would be fired or if employers would even consider them.

"How can we apply for jobs?" asked one audience member at the Spanish-only meeting at what's officially called Centro Civico Mexicano. "How can we support our family? We are not here because we want to travel around the world. We are here because we need to be here, help us."

But there were no answers on how it will affect jobs for illegal workers. We won't fully understand the impact that this will have on employers and employment until later on, said Diaz. Also unknown is how or if it will work in other states, a question that can only be answered by other states.

Ingrid Quiroz said she felt that the panel answered many questions, but there were still quite a few left to be answered. There is just fear and a lot of confusion surrounding this, the audience member said.

"We can tell that there is a lot of mistrust here, but they need to realize that driving is not a right, it's a privilege," Diaz said. "The message today was to educate the community about what this law means, what the new requirements are and encourage them to abide by the law."

The meeting was conducted in Spanish.

State officials wanted to show the Latino community how important this issue is for them, she said. That's why the meeting was held on their turf, in a place where they feel comfortable and conducted only in Spanish.

Earlier this week, leaders held a similar meeting in St. George. Another one will be held today in Logan.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com