The states and districts of the United States that grant driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

Undocumented can drive with license in New York 3:09

(CNN Spanish) - The state of Virginia, in the United States, is on track to pass a bill that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

On February 12, the state-majority Democratic Senate passed a bill that would allow Virginia residents to pay taxes and to prove their identity, obtain driver's licenses.

Current Virginia law requires that those who apply for licenses present proof of “legal presence” to show that they are authorized to be in the country.

“Having an identification also makes it more likely for people to introduce themselves to help law enforcement in investigations. Other states that have taken action have seen a decrease in collisions and cases of coup and execution, ”Surovell said in a statement.

Now the bill - which Republicans have opposed - must now go through the House of Delegates. If the Democratic governor Ralph Northam, who previously expressed his support for the measure, approves it, it would take effect on January 1, 2021.

If this were true, Virginia would join 18 other states in the United States - including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico - in allowing undocumented immigrants to have driver's licenses.

These are the other states that grant licenses to undocumented immigrants:

2019: New York, New Jersey and Oregon

NY

In recent months, New York and New Jersey passed similar laws, a push to extend rights to undocumented communities that have been subject to the Trump administration's immigration policies.

In New York, with the so-called Green Light law, since December 2019 undocumented immigrants can apply for their driver's license in that state. That law protects the information of applicants from immigration agencies.

Due to this measure, the US Department of Homeland Security announced in early February that residents of the state of New York can no longer participate in certain Trusted Traveler Programs, including the one known as the Global Entry, which allows a faster customs pass for participants when they enter the US.

New Jersey

In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy signed a similar law in December 2019 that allows state residents to obtain their driver's license regardless of immigration status.

With this law, the governor said in a statement, it seeks to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the roads and improve road safety.

The bill created two categories of driver's licenses: a REAL ID and identification, which is only available to legal residents, and on the other hand, a driver's license and basic identification, which is available to all New Jersey residents. , regardless of immigration status.

The law will enter into force on January 1, 2021.

Oregon

Effective since August 2019, the law eliminates the requirement that people who want to apply for a non-commercial driver's license give evidence of their legality status before the Department of Transportation.

2015: Hawaii and Delaware

Hawaii

In Hawaii, the law established a "limited-purpose driver's license," but this and other limited-purpose documents are not accepted for federal identification and voting purposes. It entered into effect on January 1, 2016.
The law states that driver's licenses "will not be used to consider a person's citizenship or immigration status as the basis for a criminal investigation, arrest or detention."

Delaware

In Delaware, the law that allows regardless of immigration status, the state can issue a driver's license has been in effect since December 2015. The license, which is known as a "driving privilege card", has a unique design to distinguish it from other driver's licenses.

The document is not valid as identification and only allows "driving privileges".

2013: Eight states and the District of Columbia approve immigrant driver's licenses

That year, states like California, North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, Vermont, and the District of Columbia passed laws to deliver driver's licenses to residents regardless of immigration status.

California

In California, Assembly Bill 60 allowed the California Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants who can prove their identity, have established their residence in California and pass driving tests. The law entered into force on January 1, 2015.

North Carolina

North Carolina this type of licenses debuted in March 2013. They are marked with a “limited term” and “legal presence / no legal status” note in smaller red letters. Originally, officials had proposed putting a thick pink stripe on licenses to make it clear that the owners were undocumented immigrants and not US citizens.
But transport officials changed the course of that idea, as some rights defenders of immigrants said it amounted to a discriminatory "scarlet letter".

Colorado

The law passed in 2013 authorizes the Department of Transportation of that state to issue driver's licenses, instruction permits or identification cards to people who do not have legal residence in the United States, or who can only prove that they are temporarily in the country.

The issuance of driver's licenses regardless of legal status came into effect in August 2014.

Connecticut

The law passed in June 2013 establishes that the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may not refuse to issue a driver's license to any applicant that complies with the general statutes, so that he cannot establish that he is legally in the United States, or so he does not have a number Social security

The law entered into force on January 1, 2015.

Puerto Rico

In August 2013, the governor of Puerto Rico Alejandro García Padilla signed the law that allows immigrants who do not have legal residence status on the island and who have resided there for more than a year, can apply for a provisional driver's license.

The license is valid for three years and is renewable for additional periods of three years.

It entered into force in August 2014.

Maryland

The law authorizes the issuance of driver's licenses, identification cards and permits to drive mopeds who do not meet the requirements of federal agencies to obtain a Social Security number. Applicants must show that they have paid income taxes in the state for two years, or are dependent on a person who has paid taxes in the state.

The law is effective as of January 1, 2014.

Nevada

Passed in 2013, this law authorizes Nevada residents, who are not US citizens, to acquire driver's licenses. The law prohibits the Director of the Department of Transportation from sharing information with any federal, state or local authority about the applicant's immigration status.

The law entered into force on January 1, 2014.

Vermont

The law passed in 2013 allows Vermont residents who cannot certify their legal presence in the United States to be eligible for a motor vehicle operator privilege card or an alternative identification card.

The law entered into force on January 1, 2014.

D.C.

This law, which came into effect on May 1, 2014, allows you to apply for a driver's license to residents of the District of Columbia who cannot provide a Social Security number, who are not eligible to obtain a social security number or who cannot prove their legal presence in the United States.

2012: Illinois

In 2012, then Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law that at that time benefited a population of thousands of drivers driving on Illinois roads without a license or other documentation authorizing their presence in the United States.

The measure benefited those who by then had been in Illinois for more than a year and were not eligible to obtain a Social Security number. Since then, regardless of immigration status, drivers can obtain a driver's license if they pass a driving safety test and have valid car insurance.

The law came into effect in November 2013.

2005: Utah

It was one of the first states to take this step. The approved law came into effect in March 2005 and allows those who have resided for six months in the state to apply for their driver's license, even if they do not have a social security number.

2003: New Mexico

The law was passed in 2003 and allows the State Department of Vehicles to accept the tax identification number as a substitute for a social security number regardless of the applicant's immigration status.

At the time of its approval, only Washington had passed a law similar to that in the entire United States. But in 2013 Governor Susana Martínez criticized this law and promised to appeal this law, but it was unsuccessful.

1993: Washington

It was the first state to pass this law that came into effect on July 25, 1993. With it, those who did not have documentation to prove they were documented residents of the United States could use an alternative document such as paying taxes to access driving licenses

Driver's licenses