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BY PATRICK GUINANE
pguinane@nwitimes.com
317.637.9078 | Monday, December 05, 2005 | (No comments posted.)
INDIANAPOLIS | Undocumented immigrants who live and work in Northwest Indiana could receive a special drivers license under landmark legislation that state Rep. John Aguilera, D-East Chicago, plans to pursue next year.
While useless in the quest toward U.S. citizenship, the license would be more of a permit, granting driving rights to illegal immigrants in Indiana who pass a state driving test and buy auto insurance.
"It should be framed as a public safety issue. That's what we're trying to impact here," said Aguilera, the only Latino member of the Legislature and chairman of the Indiana Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs.
The commission has been studying the issue for nearly a year and plans to present the General Assembly with the detailed report next month.
Aguilera decided against drafting such legislation last year, deciding the issue needed more study. Now, he has support from the other side of the aisle.
Last week, Rep. Mike Murphy, R-Indianapolis, said he also plans to tackle the issue.
"They're here. They're going to work. Some of them may go to work for you," Murphy told a group of Indianapolis-area business owners.
"And, currently, we have a large number on the road, driving cars -- without licenses, without insurance, without any qualifications -- and they're running into us and into each other."
While an exact number is difficult to pinpoint, Aguilera says the Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs has been told roughly 300,000 undocumented immigrants reside in Indiana.
A state permit, Aguilera says, would ensure that immigrant drivers have insurance and know the rules of the road. That, he argues, would make them less likely to flee the scene of an accident.
The commission is closely studying Tennessee and Utah, states that recently established immigrant driving permits. No state can issue an official license, because a new federal homeland security law requires that applicants present a Social Security card.
For a limited immigrant driving permit, applicants instead could present a federal tax identification number from the Internal Revenue Service. The driving permit would serve a sole purpose and would not, for instance, allow the holder to board an airplane or enter a federal building.
Aguilera said he knows his proposal will have its detractors, but unless the federal government stems the tide of immigration, states like Indiana must face resulting realities.
"I'm all for making the borders more secure," he said. "I'm all for enhancing our immigration laws, but we're not a border state."
The support of Aguilera and Murphy might not be enough to win legislative approval. Illinois considered a similar measure in 2003, but it failed, despite the support of more than a dozen Latino legislators.
In Indiana, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said the issue of untrained, uninsured immigrant drivers needs to be addressed, but he stopped short of supporting permits for those here illegally.
"This is a problem every state is wrestling with. It needs, I think, to be addressed on multiple fronts," Daniels said.
"I think it can only go hand in hand with improvements in making sure the law is not being violated, and that people offered that permission are here legally."
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