President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has some in Utah concerned over whether to obtain or renew their driving privilege cards. Even if an individual doesn’t have legal status in the United States, the card — established in 2005 — allows a Utah resident to drive legally and obtain insurance.
Immigration attorney Kendall Moriarty, who practices in Salt Lake City, worries about law enforcement calling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when they encounter a driver with a privilege card. While she hasn’t had a client experience this, she said she’s heard reports from other attorneys.
“At every Know Your Rights presentation that I've done since December, everyone is like, ‘What about the driver privilege cards?’” she said.
Chris Caras, director of the Driver License Division under the Utah Department of Public Safety, encourages people to get a privilege card so they feel more comfortable on the road and can access legally required auto insurance.
“I can only imagine the anxiety that somebody has,” he said. “If you're a licensed driver and you drive past the police officer, don't you get nervous? I would think that it would be heightened if you knew that you didn't even have a driving privilege.”
The Driver License Division does not share immigration status with outside agencies. Caras said immigration status is only used to determine eligibility.
“We don't mark the records with any kind of immigration status — that's kind of outside of our scope,” he said. “We deal with it to determine whether or not they qualify for a driving privilege card or a limited-term license in those avenues. But we don't deal with presenting immigration statuses to anyone outside.”
A limited-term license is available to those with refugee, asylee or humanitarian parole status.
Law enforcement officers can only access basic information from the division, he said, like home address, emergency contact and legal permission to drive. They can, however, look up someone’s criminal history in the Utah or federal Criminal Justice Information Systems to find information beyond what the division has.
Between 31,000 and 39,000 privilege cards have been issued each year since 2009, according to data from the Department of Public Safety.
“I can't say that we've necessarily seen a significant shift in the number of applications,” Caras said.
The division works to educate law enforcement and the public on the many reasons someone might have a card, he said.
“At every opportunity that we are asked to address the driving privilege card issue, we try to bring up the fact that it isn't prima facie evidence that this person is not legally present.”
Moriarty said someone with a card could be in the country without legal status, or they could be transitioning from one visa to another, or waiting on a pending immigration case. She said some immigrants are worried about being targeted while renewing their privilege cards, which must be done in person every year.
There’s nothing to keep federal agents from detaining someone at a driver’s license office, but Caras said he’s “not aware of anyone who's ever been arrested for an immigration issue out of any of my facilities” over his decades-long career.
Still, Moriarty recommends that immigrants without legal status only get a privilege card if they need to drive.
“Immigration officials are going to be holding it against people more often than not, for driving without a license,” she said. “If you can avoid driving, then don’t get one. It's not worth having your name and information, your most recent address, in the database if you can avoid it.”
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
