Bill granting immigrants a “driving privilege card” advances

On Tuesday, the Indiana Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee approved a bill that would allow people living in the U.S. without legal permission to receive a driving privilege card. The cards’ sole use would be to allow individuals to drive, not to use them as an ID or to vote.

Senate Bill 248 is authored by Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen, Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, and Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger.

In order for an individual to receive one of these cards, they would have to show that they had paid taxes in Indiana for one year. The person would have to follow the same standards for a driving license that all Hoosiers are required to follow. These include carrying auto insurance, possibly attending driving school, and up to 50 hours of practice with 10 hours occurring at night.

The card would not require people to file for citizenship. It would have a fixed cost of $67.

The privilege card application would require an applicant to submit fingerprints for local and national criminal background checks. If approved, the person applying for the driving card would have to renew it every year. This would not allow them to drive commercial vehicles.

If person would get pulled over without a driving privilege card, they could receive 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine for the first violation. For repeat offenders within a 10-year period, the penalty would move up to one year in jail and up to a $5,000 fine. Multiple offenses could accumulate and make that person a felon.

Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, opposed the bill, making the case for people who do “follow the rules” and complete their citizenship.

“The one thing, and I’m coming right back to this: ‘We follow the rules, we did the right thing. They’re saying my job is being eroded by somebody that didn’t follow the rules and didn’t do the right thing.’ How do I respond to those people? When we start making exceptions for those that didn’t follow the rules and didn’t do the right thing?” Buck said.

Criminal defense and immigration attorney Felipe Merino was asked a similar question, and in his response he spoke of someone who waited 40 years to take the citizenship test.

“‘Why did it take you so long?’ You know what he told me? He said, ‘I was scared. I was scared.’ And so he was scared as a legal permanent resident with a card that says he’s allowed to be here, with a driver’s license where, when a police officer pulls up behind him, he can present it. You can just imagine the folks that we’ve been talking about here today, what kind of shadow comes behind them whenever they see a police officer.”

The bill passed committee with a vote of 5-4 and will now move to the Senate Appropriations Committee.