Court order sought in suit over denied licenses

Parties in a lawsuit against the state Motor Vehicle Division over denied driver’s licenses and ID cards have filed for a temporary restraining order asking a judge to force the agency to stop its restrictive practices in denying licenses.

A judge Thursday had not approved the restraining order, but a hearing had been requested in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe by the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness and Somos Un Pueblo Unido.

Those two groups are part of a class action lawsuit filed against the MVD in January on behalf of a few people who were denied ID cards and driver’s licenses after the state’s adoption of Real ID-compliant licenses.

In 2016, the state adopted a law creating a two-tiered licensing system for New Mexico drivers — one ID card that

meets federal requirements and another available to people who provide less documentation or are living in the country illegally.

The second-tier option provides a driver’s authorization card or ID that cannot be used for federal purposes.

The lead plaintiff in the suit, David Coss, former mayor of Santa Fe, says he was denied a driver’s license despite having all the required documents for the second-tier option.

The lawsuit claims that MVD is demanding more documentation than legally required and thus preventing people from accessing the state documents necessary to get a job, process paperwork, pick up prescriptions and other daily activities.

“People are being denied something they absolutely need,” said David Urias, lead attorney on the case.

He said the groups and individuals who filed the lawsuit were hoping conversations with MVD and the lawsuit would stop MVD’s restrictive practices, “but the practice hasn’t stopped.”

The temporary restraining order seeks to have MVD and its independent contractors stop requiring more documentation than legally necessary and notify people who have been denied an ID card with a reason for their denial and a path to resolving it. It also seeks to make the agency keep a record of people who are denied the second-tier ID cards.