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Bill Prohibiting Driver's Licenses For Undocumented Immigrants Advances In New Mexico
Photo by Mónica Ortiz Uribe
Advocate Rosa Lopez holds up mock driver's license plate. She uses it during rallies in support of a New Mexico law that allows undocumented immigrants to get a driver's license.
A bill that would prohibit driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants is advancing in the New Mexico state legislature.
On Saturday the House Judiciary Committee voted to send the bill to the House floor, where a newly elected Republican majority promises to pass it. The bill faces a tougher future in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
It's the latest attempt by lawmakers to repeal a 2003 law allowing unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. Gov. Susana Martinez campaigned in favor of repeal during her first run for governor in 2010.
Since then 10 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing people in the country illegally to obtain some form of driver's license.
State and federal courts in New Mexico have tried multiple cases involving fraud and immigrant driver's licenses in the past four years.