(NewsNation) — Some Republican-led states are taking their immigration crackdowns to the streets as lawmakers attempt to put the brakes on issuing driver’s licenses to noncitizens.
In more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia, an individual can obtain a driver’s license no matter their immigration status.
While citizenship documentation will soon be required to obtain a REAL ID for domestic flights, hitting the highway with an out-of-state driver’s license doesn’t require those documents in 19 territories.
Which states are trying to ban noncitizens from driver’s licenses?
Some states with Republican governors are choosing not to recognize driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants, with legislation in place or in progress in at least nine states.
They include New Hampshire, Tennessee, Montana, Alabama, Wyoming, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Carolina and Florida.
Some Republican lawmakers, like Alabama Sen. Chris Elliott, see these moves as a message.
Elliott has suggested his state erect an unwelcome sign that suggests immigrants “turn around and go somewhere else.”
Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, managing partner at an immigration law firm in Austin, Texas, told NewsNation these laws would “put a chilling effect on tourism and other economic initiatives in states.”
“If immigrants don’t feel safe visiting the state of Florida or working construction jobs in Florida, it’s everyone in Florida who suffers, not just the would-be immigrants,” she said.
Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Ala., shared similar concerns over the proposals.
“We have people that come here for a lot of events — tourists, vacation, what have you — that could be caught in this. So we need to let people know,” Coleman-Madison told the Associated Press. “I think some of our laws are mean-spirited, and sometimes I think we just have to call it like it is.”
The National Immigration Law Center said stripping licenses would result in “less trained, tested, licensed, and insured drivers on the road, compromising safety for all.”
Where can noncitizens get driver’s licenses?
The following territories issue licenses to drivers regardless of immigration status, per the National Immigration Law Center:
- Washington
- Oregon
- California
- Nevada
- Utah
- Colorado
- New Mexico
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- Virginia
- Washington, D.C.
- Maryland
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Rhode island
- Massachusetts
- Vermont