Federal pressure and initiative push state toward ID resolution
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
It's usually nice to be considered in the top five of things, but it's not a source of pride that Washington is considered by some as one of the top states for people to obtain illegal drivers' licenses. A petition drive aims to correct that poor image, but the source of the debate and the underlying facts about illegal immigration in Washington are a bit fuzzy.
It is true that Washington is out of step with most states in its check of citizenship and social security numbers (SSN) when issuing driver licenses and identification. "We aren't the police," says Serena Davis, Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) public information officer.
A petition currently being circulated by a group called Respect Washington wouldn't turn licensing into law enforcement, but it would require the use of an identity verification system called E-Verify. Spokesman for Respect Washington, Craig Keller said his main concern is that our government agencies are not enforcing the law.
"We should not be a tool for illegal activity," says Keller. According to Keller, initiative I-1043 is a revised version of I-409, which did not receive enough votes to be placed on the ballot in 2008. I-1043 states that it would require state and local agencies to enforce federal immigration laws and verify immigration status to issue driver's licenses and public benefits. It would also require all private and public employers to us E-Verify.
E-Verify is a computerized check of identity against Immigration and Naturalization Service and Social Security Administration (SSA) data bases. It is operated by Homeland Security and the SSA and is currently a voluntary program, although some states, such as Arizona have made the program mandatory for all new hires.
The program has its critics, including Rep. Bruce Chandler, who describes E-Verify as "not reliable and not timely." He points to the recent delay in making the program mandatory for use by federal contractors and subcontractors. E-Verify was supposed to be mandated for those employers on June 30, but now is delayed until Sept. 8, the latest of four delays.
"All of the delays from Homeland Security suggests the problems are such that they can't make it reliable enough for implementation," says Chandler.
"That's a falsehood," says Keller. Keller believes E-Verify is 99.6 percent accurate. Keller refers to comments made by Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Policy, Stewart Baker, who in a blog stated that an independent study of 1,000 E-Verify queries between October, 2006 and March, 2007, produced five "mismatches" that allowed the individuals to correct erroneous Social Security data. Baker categorized 53 others who were rejected as illegal workers.
More recent data provided by Homeland Security states that 96.1 percent of checked employees were confirmed within 24 hours and .37 percent had tentative non-confirmations that were subsequently cleared.
The issue of license fraud gained attention when Oregon tightened its license identification rules in February, 2008. Prior to that date, Oregon's approach was similar to Washington. Oregon chose to use a program called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE), which has been around since 1987 and is used by governmental agencies. It does not check employment status like E-Verify.
David House, Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman for Oregon believes the change has made a difference in number of illegal aliens obtaining licenses. One weak link in Washington is an option that allows people to sign a declaration stating they do not have a social security number. In 2008, 43,518 people used that option, a number House describes as "a big number." But he said Oregon had a similar provision and it was also a big number before the change. House said the number of people who now get licenses in Oregon without SSN is "virtually zero."
Another piece of data from Oregon that has been used to show concern over Washington's policies is the number of people who request a driver test in Spanish. According to House, Oregon used to get 3,000 to 4,000 requests per year before 2008, and now requests are in the hundreds.
According to numbers furnished by Davis at Washington's Department of Licensing, Washington had 91,970 requests for Spanish license tests in 2007 and 66,032 in 2008. However, while most testing offices saw a decline in 2008, the year Oregon law took effect, Vancouver jumped from 971 to 2,540 requests. Does this indicate movement of illegal aliens to Washington to obtain a driver license?
Not necessarily, says Chandler. "The issue [of illegal licenses] has been discussed for a number of years." He says it tended to die down because "most of what we have is anecdotal." Chandler cautions about reading too much into the SSN and Spanish test data. "I'm skeptical about assumptions based on what appears to be a problem without more analysis." He also points out that Washington's immigration is much different than Oregon, with Canada the primary source and Asia a major player.
Chandler is confident that DOL has tightened its procedures and has curbed the practice known as "flipping." Flipping is when an individual or group enters the state and obtains several driver licenses using false or stolen documents and leaves the state within hours. Says DOL's Davis, "we have worked hard to prevent ...license flipping." She says DOL has taken strong steps, including requiring significant proof of residency and training for staff in detection of fraudulent documents.
One thing that Chandler and Keller agree on is the concern over illegal access to state services. Chandler says that has been a greater concern in the legislature over the past couple of years. He says the federal government has been concerned about Washington's policy which has allowed access to Medicaid. "We have been struggling with it for several years," says Chandler. It is also Keller's main concern. He cites reports that say hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to illegal aliens and their children for health care.
Keller believes I-1043 provides a way to reduce the public cost of allowing illegal aliens access to state services. He also believes the initiative will make it to the ballot. It will take 241,153 signatures and Keller believes the strategy of distributing forms via newspapers will give better results.
Regardless of the outcome over I-1043, there is still one more identification issue looming over states, and that is REAL ID. It is also championed by Homeland Security, which says it is one of the last of the 9/11 Commission recommendations that has not been met. REAL ID requires states to keep electronic copies of all documents presented to states for issuance of driver licenses and identification. The enhanced license that Washington recently adopted as an option, would qualify as the type of identification Homeland Security is looking for. The REAL ID Act was to go into effect by May 11, 2008. The deadline has been extended to Dec. 31, 2009. Chandler doesn't foresee Washington being in compliance by that date.
Nor does Oregon intend to comply. On May 29, the Oregon legislature sent Senate Bill 536 to the governor. SB 536 calls REAL ID an unfunded mandate that "will expose Oregonians to an unprecedented level of identity theft..." The bill forbids state agencies from spending funds on REAL ID unless federal funds are received, and it prevents the Department of Transportation from involvement in shared databases without sufficient security. House says Oregon and Washington are not alone. He doesn't believe any state will be in compliance.
Without state cooperation, Homeland Security deadlines become goals on wheels.
City moves forward on TBD
In a unanimous vote, Goldendale City Council took the first step toward enacting an ordinance that would create a Transportation Benefit District (TBD) last Monday. The Council is expected to vote on establishment of the District at their next meeting, July 6.
City administrator, Larry Bellamy prepared the ordinance in response to the Council request at their June 1 meeting. At that time, the Council expressed their intent to pursue the option of putting 0.2 percent additional sales tax to a vote of the people. Bellamy had estimated that would generate about $100,000 per year for road improvements.
The ordinance does not include specific intent on method to raise funds. If the TBD is formed, it will be up to the governing board to decide which of three options to take:
1) add up to 0.2 percent sales tax, subject to voter approval.
2) impose up to $20 license tab fee on Goldendale residents, without voter approval.
3) establish tolls on specific roads.
Only options one and two are specifically mentioned in the draft of the ordinance.
The governing board will be the City Council acting in an ex officio and independent capacity with the city clerk/treasurer serving as the TBD treasurer. The TBD is a separate entity from the city, with independent taxing authority.
Since the issue has had two public comment periods, public comments should be directed to council members or the mayor.
In other business, the Council approved without dissent to annex 141.5 acres surrounding the Puget Sound Energy Plant in accordence with PSE's request. The Council had no objection to the desire to zone the area for light industrial use, providing a buffer between the plant and residential property.
The Council also voted to waive a $50 fee on a year-by-year basis for the Goldendale Horseshoe Pitching Club, although Mayor Arletta Parton voiced her objection saying the group was taking work away from the city crew. Jim Link detailed the club's substantial investment in the development and maintenance of the pitching area.
Quarter horse show at KC Fairgrounds
Goldendale will host a National Foundation Quarter Horse Association all breed show June 26-28 at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds. Classes include working cow horse, ranch cutting, breakaway, heading-heeling, daubing, team sorting trail, working rancher, in-hand trail, color classes and gaming classes.
Championship and high point awards will be presented. The full listing of classes is at www.Wafqhc.com. The event is presented by the Washington Foundation Quarter Horse Club. |
