Kulongoski proposes permit system for immigrant drivers.

Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard

Gov. Ted Kulongoski told a Eugene audience Tuesday that he wants Oregon to issue drivers' licenses only to those who can prove that they are citizens or otherwise in the United States and Oregon legally - but wants those without such proof to be able to obtain driver privilege permits.

It's the latter idea that critics of illegal immigration are likely to oppose if Kulongoski decides to formally pursue such a system.

The Democratic governor's comments came in response to an audience member's question after his speech to the Eugene Rotary Club.

The governor, asked about what Oregon was doing to comply with the federal Real ID Act, expressed skepticism about the congressional mandate that states must spend hundreds of millions of dollars to revamp how they issue drivers' licenses. However, Kulongoski said he understood why Congress wanted drivers' licenses to serve as proof of legal residency or citizenship, such as when passengers board an airplane.

"The federal government wants some assurance that in fact the people who are receiving those licenses have legal presence in the states that provide them," he said. "I actually think there should be a driver's license that does actually show legal presence in the state."

In an interview, the governor said his position reflected his growing concern about crimes such as identity theft, because it is so easy for people to get an Oregon driver's license without meeting more stringent proof-of-identity requirements, such as the presentation of a birth certificate or Social Security card.

Kulongoski quickly added that this would create a problem for workers "who do not have a legal presence in the state" and their employers.

"I'm not trying to create a situation where we have all these people driving without insurance because they're out there without a driver's license,' he said.

Kulongoski described a permit the state could issue, allowing people to drive to and from work, but that would not serve as official identification as would a driver's license.

Unless Congress steps in to alter or suspend a deadline for states to comply within a year with the Real ID Act, it's an issue Kulongoski and the Legislature may try to address in an upcoming February session or in 2009. Last session, the Oregon House passed a bill he supported moving Oregon ahead with implementation of the Real ID Act. The state Senate rejected the bill.

Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005. Responding to the 2001 terrorist attacks, it sought to arm the government in ferreting out potential terrorists who are in the United States illegally. It requires, among other things, proof of "legal presence" so a drivers' license can be used to determine its holder's identity and whether he or she is a citizen or legal resident of the United States.

Oregon is one of the seven states that don't require proof of legal presence - which results in the issuance of licenses to illegal immigrants.

Rep. Phil Barnhart, who was in the audience, said he couldn't weigh in on Kulongoski's idea until he learned more details.

The Eugene Democrat said the Real ID Act poses "a huge headache" for legislators. Not only does it raise the hot-button issues of privacy, security and immigration policy - which is largely a federal issue - it imposes a federal mandate that costs tens of millions of dollars, which states would have to pay for out of their own coffers.

Jim Ludwick of Oregonians for Immigration Reform has long contended that Oregon should require more stringent proof of legal residence in the state. But he said Kulongoski's call for what other states have called a driving privilege card would draw opposition from himself and fellow immigration-reform activists. He said Tennessee's decision to stop issuing such permits in the past year came after much controversy about abuses by illegal immigrants who were drawn to that state.

Ludwick was asked about Kulongoski's concern that without such a permit, those here without legal residency would drive without meeting state competency standards or insurance.

"What should we do?" he responded. "We should deny them drivers' licenses if they are not here legally. They should not be driving on our roads."