State settles suit on driver’s licenses
Applicants will no longer need Social Security number to apply for card
Civil rights groups say it should be easier for New Mexicans to get a driver’s license under a settlement agreement they have reached with the state in a lawsuit over a controversial 2016 law that has caused frustration and confusion at Motor Vehicles Division offices.
Under the settlement, New Mexicans will not have to present proof of an identification number, such as a Social Security card, to get what is known as a driving authorization card.
New Mexicans can also use a broader range of documents to prove they live in the state when they apply for such a license, including a letter from a doctor’s office. And they will have a clearer process to appeal if they are denied.
The agreement springs from a lawsuit filed by state residents who said they were wrongly turned away when seeking what was supposed to be a simple alternative for people who did not want a driver’s license that complied with the federal Real ID Act.
Instead, the licenses for basic driving privileges were still marred by bureaucracy, said the lead plaintiff in the case, former Santa Fe Mayor David Coss.
Coss said he and countless more qualified applicants were wrongly denied a license by Gov. Susana Martinez’s Motor Vehicle Division.
New Mexico created the two types of driver’s licenses as part of a 2016 law. One license complies with the federal Real ID Act. Those who want this license must be U.S. citizens or have proof of lawful immigration status.
The other license is for undocumented immigrants and citizens such as Coss, who do not want to be part of the federal identification system.
The driver’s authorization card might not be valid as identification for air travel or entering a federal building. But the secondary driver’s license is enough for New Mexicans such as Coss.
The former mayor said he has a passport that will suffice for air travel. All he wanted to drive lawfully was one of the new driving authorization cards.
But Coss, who served as mayor from 2006-14, said the Motor Vehicle Division turned him down on four occasions because he did not have a Social Security card.
Speaking outside the Taxation and Revenue Department on Tuesday, Coss told reporters the agency’s Motor Vehicle Division would not even accept a letter from the Social Security Administration or a pile of other records, such as utility bills that established his residency.
“It hurt my family and it hurt me,” said Coss, adding that he is a caretaker for relatives but was left with an expired driver’s license. “But as I pursued this, I found it was hurting lots of New Mexicans.”
Civil rights groups say a Social Security number was never supposed to be a requirement to get the driving authorization card and joined with Coss in suing the state.
Also included in the lawsuit was an 87-year-old woman who said her middle name was spelled differently on her birth certificate than on her Social Security card, leading MVD to reject her attempt to renew her driver’s license.
And the case included others foiled when they applied for a driving authorization card for what seemed to be clerical errors or for lack of paperwork that was never required under state law.
The cause brought together immigrant rights groups such as Somos Un Pueblo Unido, with advocates for the homeless, such as the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
All argued the requirement that drivers provide an identification number left many — from immigrants to homeless people to the elderly and recently released prison inmates — unable to get a license to drive legally or function in society.
“Without an ID, you have no way to access new housing. You can’t get a job. You can’t even cash a check or rent a hotel room,” said Hank Hughes, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness.
The settlement agreement, finalized late last week, said the department is expanding the list of documents it will accept to prove residency.
The Department of Taxation and Revenue, which oversees the Motor Vehicle Division, also committed in the agreement to train staff, update information about the requirements for obtaining a driver’s license and undertake a public information campaign.
A spokesman for the Taxation and Revenue Department did not respond to a request to comment on the settlement agreement.
The department had lambasted the lawsuit at first, accusing Coss of engaging in a political stunt. Even so, civil rights groups were complimentary of the department on Tuesday.
“We’re really pleased that MVD worked hand in hand with us to address all the different experiences New Mexicans were having,” said Gabriela Ibañez-Guzman, staff attorney for Somos Un Pueblo Unido.