Court Halts New DPS License Rules

The Texas Dept. of Public Safety is appealing a temporary injunction filed last week by Travis Co. District Judge Orlinda Naranjo, the stops the agency from instituting new rules regarding driver licensing that opponents say unfairly discriminates against foreign workers.

The Public Safety Commission, which oversees DPS, last year devised a new rule that requires non-U.S. citizens to have documentation showing that they are allowed to be in the country for at least one year when applying for a driver license or state identification card. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund sued the state on behalf of a group of legal temporary workers who were unable to get licenses under the new rules.

MALDEF and others have argued that the Commission overstepped its authority with the rule change. In last week's ruling, Naranjo agreed, saying the agency has acted outside its authority. DPS is now appealing the ruling, arguing in part that not allowing the agency to apply the new rules would somehow have a "major impact on business operations at the agency, and could in fact shut down the agency's ability to appropriately and securely identify driver license applicants," according to an agency statement. How suddenly this might be so, however, is entirely unclear.

Meanwhile, however, the Texas ACLU, Texas Civil Rights Project and Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, each hailed Naranjo's decision. In a press release, McClendon argues that the agency has gone too far in requiring individuals to prove their citizenship -- asking for such documentation even when an individual is already in the state's database as a licensed driver. "This is just one example showing that the quest for proof of citizenship by citizens and others to obtain a license to drive in Texas has gone too far," she said.