County’s Immigrants Race to Beat New Law

Immigrants lined up at Ventura County offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles this week, trying to get a California driver’s license or identification card before a change in state law closes that door to all but legal residents.

“I came today to try and do it as quickly as possible,” said Justine, 25, an immigrant from Sheffield, England, waiting to process a driver’s license application at the Thousand Oaks DMV office. “I have a lot of friends who are doing it as well.”

Justine, who would not give her last name, said she came to the United States about a year ago on a visitor’s visa, and returns to England briefly every three months to renew her visa before flying back to California. She said she hopes to gain legal residency but does not know when that will happen.

Currently, anyone wishing to obtain a state driver’s license or identification card does not need to show proof of citizenship or legal residency. They need only provide proof of identification, such as a birth certificate or passport from the United States or another country.

Beginning Tuesday, however, new applicants for a California license or ID card must present proof they are legally residing in the United States. The new requirement will not apply to people renewing their licenses.

At the Oxnard DMV office, Silvia Vivar Salgado, an immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico, said she does not have legal permission to live in the United States. But she has found she needs a driver’s license just to cash her paycheck.

“When I go to cash a check, they ask for identification, and when I don’t have it, they charge more,” said Salgado, 20, who picks strawberries in a local field.

Standing just behind her in line, Angelica Garcia, 32, an immigrant from Mexico City who said she has U.S. residency papers, interrupted to say how infuriated she and her neighbors are over the new law.

“This is discrimination,” she said. “Look at all the people abusing the welfare system! We don’t do that. And now they want to take our ID cards away and that’s how we cash our checks, so we can eat.”

Garcia said the news is all over local Spanish-speaking radio and television. “A lot of people are coming down here to get their licenses now,” she said.

Supervisors at local DMV offices confirmed that applications have gone up in recent weeks, but said the reasons may be mixed.

“Business is up anywhere from 30% to 40% on average in the last week to two weeks,” said Marc Bailey, manager of the Oxnard DMV office. Bailey said the cause may be both the new law and recent rains, as farm workers run errands on days they cannot work in the fields.

Steve Silva, operations officer at the Thousand Oaks DMV, said his office has seen a slight increase in business in recent weeks. “It’s mainly folks coming in from the Valley,” he said. “There’s been so many people going to the DMV in that area that we’re getting the overflow.”

While many immigrants and their advocates blasted the new law, supporters say it is long overdue.

“If it’s against the law to enter the country in the manner that you entered it, then you should not be given the privilege of operating a motor vehicle,” said Tab Berg, chief of staff for Assemblyman Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard), who voted for the bill.

Berg said Takasugi also supported the idea because, though the law requires employers to demand two forms of identification before hiring an employee, some employers only ask to see a driver’s license.

“It’s a commonly accepted mode of identification,” he said.

Some local immigrants agree, saying they know of many employers who will hire people without asking their legal status, as long as they have a state-issued driver’s license or ID card.

“Without ID, you can’t get a job and you can’t cash a check,” said Antonia Valenzuela, 37, an immigrant from Mexico who said she has legal residency and has lived in Oxnard for 20 years. “Lots of people are going to have to go back to Mexico.”