Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
David Neiwert at crooksandliars.com answers the question, Will a driver's license
suffice as proof of citizenship in Arizona? Maybe, but only if you're
from Arizona
One of the claims being made by defenders of Arizona's police-state
immigration law is that Latino citizens won't have to carry their birth
certificate or other proof of citizenship in order to avoid arrest
should they have contact with police — all they need to carry is their
driver's license.Among others making this claim is the bill's co-author, State Sen.
Russell Pearce, last week on Neil Cavuto's Fox News show:Pearce: Citizens aren't required to carry any
documentation they weren't required to carry yesterday. In Arizona, if
you have a driver's license, a state ID, an identity card, that's
presumption that you're in the state legally.Pearce is far from alone in claiming this. In his NYT
op-ed on the law, Kris Kobach — another key player in the bill's
authorship — wrote the same thing:Because Arizona allows only lawful residents to obtain
licenses, an officer must presume that someone who produces one is
legally in the country.* * *
Here's what the text of
SB 1070 says:A PERSON IS PRESUMED TO NOT BE AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE
UNITED STATES IF THE PERSON PROVIDES TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OR
AGENCY ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:1. A VALID ARIZONA DRIVER LICENSE.
2. A VALID ARIZONA NONOPERATING IDENTIFICATION LICENSE.
3. A VALID TRIBAL ENROLLMENT CARD OR OTHER FORM OF TRIBAL
IDENTIFICATION.4. IF THE ENTITY REQUIRES PROOF OF LEGAL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED
STATES BEFORE ISSUANCE, ANY VALID UNITED STATES FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL
GOVERNMENT ISSUED IDENTIFICATION.But as Stephen
Lemon points out, this language is actually pretty startling: You
will be presumed to be an illegal alien in Arizona unless you can
produce one of these four kinds of ID.Now, I haven't been able to find anything in Arizona code requiring
citizens to carry one of these forms of ID with them at all times. But
SB1070 certainly does create that requirement. As Lemons says:If during any police investigation, a cop has "reasonable suspicion" to
think you're in the country illegally, he or she can presume you're an
undocumented alien unless you provide one of several forms of ID.… Subsequently, even U.S. citizens could be held until someone from
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is called to sort them out.Keep in mind that a cop can stop someone and begin the process during
the "enforcement of any other law or ordinance of a county, city or
town or this state." That's so broad as to include weed abatement and
barking dogs.But this also raises a huge question: What if you're from another
state? What if you're only carrying an out-of-state driver's license?Many states refuse to require proof of citizenship when issuing
driver's licenses: they wisely understand that it's more important to
have people driving their roads with licenses and documentation than
not, and requiring citizenship papers is a good way to discourage it.[So will Arizona question the validity of driver's licenses from states that do not require proof of citizenship to obtain a driver's license? Apparently so.]
* * *
[A]s much as the law's apologists might make this claim, the
reality is that Latino
drivers in Arizona are already being arrested for failing to carry a
birth certificate of proof of citizenship. Remember this fellow? (begins at 1:15 mark)He first showed the officers who arrested him his driver's license.
All this would explain why ConsumerTraveler.com
issued the following advisory:U.S. legal resident aliens, and especially U.S. citizens,
normally don’t carry proof of their immigration status or citizenship,
when traveling domestically. In fact, most U.S. citizens don’t even have
proof of citizenship. Fewer than 22% of Americans have passports, and
probably fewer than 30% have “certified” birth certificates. Most
Americans only have “hospital” birth certificates. U.S. Citizens could
carry their passport, passport card, certified birth certificate if born
in the U.S., or naturalization papers to prove citizenship, but that
would be a first for U.S. citizens, traveling in their own country, to
have to prove citizenship.After reviewing the new law, and carefully considering the statements
of the law’s supporters and critics, especially if you’re a swarthy
skinned traveler in Arizona, I’d recommend you carry proof of U.S.
citizenship or legal immigration status to avoid possible detention, if
this law goes into effect.Travel agents with whom I’ve spoken are unanimous, that if the law
goes into effect, they will add a strongly worded advisory, to all
client invoices and itineraries for travel to or through Arizona, to
carry proof of citizenship or legal immigration status.And if you live in Arizona, I would not count on the assurances of
Russell Pearce and Kris Kobach. Because a driver's license may
get you off the hook — or maybe not. It'll depend on the officer,
apparently.
So there you are "snowbirds" and visitors to Arizona. Your out-of-state driver's license, especially those of you from states that do not require proof of citizenship for a driver's license, may not have adequate I.D. under S.B. 1070. You might want to obey our traffic laws because a traffic stop could turn out to be more than you ever imagined. Of course, this also includes any other laws or civil ordinances, so you better bone up on Arizona's laws. This should do wonders for Arizona tourism.
What Neiwert does not adequately point out is that a violation of the law is to not have proof of citizenship (one of the four specified I.D.) on your person at the time of a "stop" by law enforcement, not that you are in the country without proper documentation. Subsequently providing proof of citizenship after you have been arrested for lack of proof of citizenship on your person at the time of the stop may or may not prevent a later prosecution (prosecutorial discretion). So if you do not want to have an arrest record, don't forget to carry your Arizona issued I.D., tribal identification, or U.S. passport on your person at all times.
Welcome to Arizona, and have a nice day.
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I am from Illinois and extremely concerned that the drivers license from our state has been deemed unacceptable in the AZ Immigration training information. I would like to add that Illinois does not issue drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants as claimed by the AZ Peace Officers.
I have an elderly aunt that my mother would like to visit this fall in Green Valley. My mother is 90 years old. We will wait and see how things go down your way before we decide whether to make the trip or not. (My mother has a medium dark complexion and for the first time in my life, it is a concern.)
I am totally shocked that my drivers license is acceptable to airport security, but not to the Arizona Peace Officers as an ID.
Thank you so much for mentioning this issue! Good Luck to you all! The absolutely only reason I would come to AZ this summer would be to join the good Democrats of AZ in canvassing for a victory!
That first link didn’t work:
http://www2.fbi.gov/congress/congress03/mccraw062603.htm
I lived in Michigan until 2003, where I worked as a translator/interpreter/services coordinator (and sometimes ESL teacher) for a non-profit Hispanic Outreach. I was CONSTANTLY fighting local DMV branches when clients would complain, trying to make them take the Matricula Consular, which was basically an undocumented immigrant’s ticket to a driver’s license there. I would often have to get the consulate to get on people up in Lansing when they’d get really ornery, then it’d go smoothly for awhile, then they’d give us problems again, then we’d start the same cycle over again. Anyway, we all knew the process for obtaining the matricula was pretty much a joke. The person produced whatever identifying documents…birth certificate, baptismal records, military service records, marriage records, etc etc (or probably none for all I know) they had with them and the consulate issued them the ID. This guy actually pretty well assesses the reality here: http://www2.fbi.gov/congress/congress03/mccraw062603.htm.
I looked for information as to which states still accept the matricula but couldn’t find much that was up to date. There is this but it’s from 2003, with 13 states not requiring proof of legal residency status (including Michigan): http://www.famguardian.org/Subjects/Freedom/Rights/Travel/SummaryDriversLicReq.htm
I haven’t changed the name on my passport since I got married nearly three years ago, and I’m a naturalized citizen. Even though I carry an AZ license, I’m thinking that updating and carrying my US passport would probably be a smart summer project.
Why should I have to take my driver’s license with me if I walk to a friend’s house for dinner? My friend has a barking dog, the police show up, and demand my papers.
According to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report from September 2005 prepared in support of the REAL ID Act of 2005, “Summary of State Laws on the Issuance of Driver’s Licenses to Undocumented Aliens,” http://www.ilw.com/weekly/editorial/2005,1011-crs.pdf
“This report offers a state-by-state summary of state statutes and published regulations on two types of requirements that bear on the eligibility of illegal aliens for driver’s licenses: (1) evidence of legal presence in the U.S. and (2) the provision of a valid Social Security number. States take a variety of approaches. About half the states have some explicit statutory or published regulatory requirement that an applicant demonstrate lawful presence in the U.S. On the other hand, over 40 states require that an applicant submit a valid Social Security number, a requirement that can foreclose issuing licenses to illegal aliens because they are ineligible to receive such numbers. However, the Social Security number requirements in many states are limited. For example, some allow for exceptions for applicants who demonstrate that they are exempt or ineligible under law from obtaining or disclosing a Social Security number. Those laws that provide for exceptions are marked “A” in the chart. At least three states — Maryland, Oregon, and Vermont — do not explicitly require either (in regulation or statutorily) proof of legal presence or a Social Security number.”
“For a variety of reasons, statutes and regulations may not always fully guide actual state practice.”
Arizona residents who had a valid AZ driver’s license were grandfathered in under the law without providing proof of citizenship (there was a period of time that Arizona used social security numbers for driver’s license numbers pursuant to federal law that was subsequently repealed, which theoretically provided proof of citizenship). I recently had to renew my “grandfathered” AZ driver’s license (which at one time used my social security number) without providing any proof of citizenship.
If i am not mistaken, prior to 1996 AZ did not require proof of citizenship to obtain an AZDL. Therefore even ones AZDL may not be sufficient.
4. IF THE ENTITY REQUIRES PROOF OF LEGAL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES BEFORE ISSUANCE, ANY VALID UNITED STATES FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ISSUED IDENTIFICATION.
There are only 2 or 3 states, Utah being one of them, that don’t require proof of legally being in this country, so therefore, with the exception of those few states, a driver’s license is sufficient identification.
Since I’m one of the those few 22% that has a valid passport, I think I’ll just play it safe and carry that w/ me at all times (even when I’m bicycling or out for a walk) as proof of my U.S. citizenship, should this law stand post July 29, 2010. You made the point that out of state driver’s licenses may be suspect.