Immigrant Driver's License Bill Approved In Vermont; How Many Can Get Driving License?

On Wednesday, the Vermont House passed a bill allowing immigrant farmworkers in the state to obtain drivers' licenses regardless of their immigration status. Backers of the bill cited "significant challenges" faced by immigrant workers in purchasing basic necessities or accessing medical care without reliable, independent sources of transportation. The bill could benefit many of the state's estimated 1,200 to 1,500 migrant laborers, most of whom work on dairy farms which distribute to brands like Ben & Jerry's and Cabot Cheese.

The reform would allow applicants for driver's licenses to submit two forms of identification, which include an ID card issued by the Mexican or Guatemalan consulate. Previously, a Social Security number was needed to be eligible. Applicants will be issued a special new privilege card which would grant no more than the right to drive, unlike a regular driver's license, which can be used for various other sorts of privileges.

After passing 27 to 2 in the Senate last month, the bill passed the Vermont House with a vote of 105 to 39. The vote came 20 months after state police pulled over a car carrying two undocumented Mexican immigrant farm workers and turning them over to the US Border Patrol. Critics accused police of racial profiling in the case. The subject is a hot one in Vermont, a state with little history of non-European immigration.

In response, Governor Peter Shumlin announced a "bias-free" policing policy for Vermont police troopers, recommending that troopers not try to identify people whose only suspected violation is being in the United States without proper documentation. The policy also included special provisions authorizing troopers to take action concerning unlawful border crossings from Canada.

Lawmakers also created a study committee which made recommendations leading to the drivers' license legislation, according to the AP.

During House debate on Tuesday, critics of the drivers' license bill said that terrorists could take advantage of the provision. A Republican from Newport City, Rep. Duncan Kilmartin, also spoke about what he believed was a threat posed to Vermont by Mexican drug cartels, and argued that by not requiring undocumented workers to submit Social Security numbers, a double standard between normal driver's licenses and the new privilege cards would be established. But the plan found strong support among Democrats who argued that to deny workers the right to drive would be to deny them equality.