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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Bill requires citizenship or residency for license Bill requires citizenship or residency for license Advocates cite need for security; critics fear discrimination STEVE LAW California's raging debate about whether to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants has migrated north to Oregon. State lawmakers held their first hearing Wednesday about a bill that would require driver's license applicants to show proof of citizenship or legal residency in the United States. Advocates said it was an essential tool in the post-Sept. 11 era to tighten homeland security and guard against ID theft in Oregon. Critics said it merely would force noncitizens to drive without insurance and would increase discrimination against Latinos and immigrants. The hot-button issue played a pivotal role in Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful race for California governor. Oregon remains one of 11 states that don't require people to be legal residents before gaining driver's licenses. The 2000 Census showed that 2.6 percent of the state's population is here illegally, though some people think that number is understated. Some of the illegal residents have licenses, said Robin Freeman, representing the state Driver and Motor Vehicle division. Oregon State Police trooper John Scruggs, who suggested the idea that became House Bill 2608, urged the House Transportation Committee to pass his bill. "If they're here illegally, that's where I'm drawing the line," Scruggs said. Beaverton-area activist Ruth Bendl claimed that illegal immigrants use driver's licenses to leverage services that they shouldn't get, such as voting privileges. "It becomes an ID for all the social services, for banking, for anything," said Sharon Cornish, a conservative activist from the Hillsboro area. Jim Ludwick, who leads McMinnville-based Oregonians for Immigration Reform, said that tightening license requirements could improve domestic security. "The 19 Islamic terrorists had, among them, a reported 63 different driver's licenses from states all over the U.S.," Ludwick said. Santiago Ventura, a Woodburn paralegal and former farmworker, said people sometimes forget that we are a nation of immigrants. "Denying people to have a driver's license is denying them a human right," he said. "People are going to drive whether they have a license or not." Ramon Ramirez, president of Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United, or PCUN in Spanish, said the entire Hispanic community will face more discrimination if the bill is passed. "This piece of legislation does nothing for homeland security or identity theft, and will only put Oregonians at risk because it will lead to an increase in unlicensed, uninsured drivers on the road," Ramirez said. Many of the people driving without citizenship or legal documentation are waiting to get their proper papers, Ramirez said. If government agencies followed the law and moved faster, he said, "they should have been permanent residents at this time." The state Driver and Motor Vehicle division took no position on the bill. However, agency representative Robin Freeman explained one of the downsides of the bill. "DMV will no longer be able to test these individuals on their knowledge of Oregon traffic-safety laws or their driving abilities," she told lawmakers. Rep. Dave Hunt, D-Milwaukie, quizzed nearly everyone who testified if they were carrying proof of citizenship Wednesday. None was.
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