Number of license seekers falls
Tighter documentation rules for drivers likely are the reason, state officials say
By Thelma Guerrero-Huston ? Statesman Journal
July 28, 2008
Fewer people are seeking Oregon driver's licenses, and the number of driver-knowledge tests taken in Spanish has fallen to its lowest level since the state began offering the exams in that language in 1990.
Oregon also has seen a slight increase in the number of individuals being turned away by the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division because applicants lack the necessary documents to get a new or renewed license.
The dip in license seekers and the rise in denials are connected with stiffer driver's license rules that took effect this year, state transportation officials said.
The more-stringent requirements are the result of an executive order issued last year by Gov. Ted Kulongoski and a Senate bill approved by lawmakers during a supplemental legislative session in February.
The order calls for a verifiable Social Security number and proof of identity and Oregon residency.
The Senate measure, Senate Bill 1080, requires proof of citizenship or permanent legal presence to get, renew or replace an Oregon driver's license.
Halting access to Oregon driver licenses by unauthorized immigrants was at the heart of both the order and the legislation.
"Oregonians have never had to meet this level of requirements before," said DMV spokesman David House. "Some of what we're seeing are unintended consequences of the new rules."
That's something in which Salem resident Sharon Croxen has some personal insight.
Croxen said she recently accompanied an 82-year-old friend to a DMV office to renew her Oregon driver's license. The DMV refused to renew the license because her married name did not match the name on her Social Security card, Croxen said.
To renew the license, the friend was told she would have to show a court- or government-issued marriage license containing her current last name, Croxen said.
"I think the new rules are a bunch of bull," Croxen said. "I think it's discrimination against women because men don't have to change their last name when they get married or remarried."
DMV officials said they do not keep statistics on the number of people denied a new, renewed or replaced license.
However, an analysis of state DMV data shows a drop of 3.3 percent in the number of Class C (non-commercial) driver's licenses issued between January and June 2008, compared with the same time period a year earlier.
Data also show a 65 percent decline in driver knowledge exams administered in Spanish between January and June 2008, compared with the same period of time the previous year.
In addition to Spanish, Oregon also offers its driver's knowledge exam in Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and American Sign Language.
Of the nearly 600,000 non-commercial driver's license tests given by the state last year, more than 245,000 were in a language other than English, data show.
The move by individual states to require more stringent rules to access a driver's license began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
Fueling the drive was the fact that the hijackers used bogus licenses to board the airplanes they hijacked, a detail often pointed out by people opposed to driver licenses for illegal immigrants.
"The intent is to make the state and the United States more secure," said Ted Campbell, the director of the Oregon chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.
"The new rules are starting to affect the illegal people by requiring them to show proof of identity," Campbell said. "Now we need to get the unlicensed drivers off the roads."
The number of people cited for operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license "increased slightly" in Marion County since the new rules took effect, said Marion County Sheriff's Cmdr. Jason Myers.
Statewide, the number of people ticketed for driving without a license saw a "slim drop" for the same time period, said Gregg Hastings, a spokesman with the Oregon State Police.
Others who oppose driving privileges for illegal immigrants say that giving them licenses offers government approval of their illegal status, which they say could lead to more illegal immigration.
"The underlying intent of the executive order and Senate Bill 1080 was so that Oregon would not be viewed nationally as a sanctuary state," said state Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, who voted in favor of the Senate bill.
But people who support granting licenses to the undocumented say it helps provide more information about who is living in any given community, helps the unauthorized to better understand driving laws, and helps benefit the state's economy.
"The fact that Spanish-language exams have dropped doesn't mean that people aren't driving or making an effort to drive," said Jaime Arredondo, a youth organizer in Polk County. "It just means they're scared to go in to get a license."
