Colorado Immigrant Advocates Plan Driver’s License Push

Immigrant advocates in Colorado want public support for allowing illegal immigrants to seek licenses to drive.

The activists say they will seek a ballot measure to change a law that requires proof of legal residency to be issued a Colorado driver’s license. They say illegal immigrants are driving anyway, and that the public would be safer if those drivers could seek licenses and auto insurance.

Critics say granting driving privileges to illegal immigrants creates an incentive to violate immigration laws.

New Mexico and Washington are the only states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain the same driver’s license as a U.S. citizen. Utah grants immigrants a driving permit that can’t be used for identification, unlike a driver’s license that helps people open bank accounts or board a commercial airliner.