A spending bill in the state Senate on Thursday dissolved into a fight on immigration as Republicans used their majority to block an effort to restore a program that provides driver’s licenses to those in the country illegally.
The rejection of the $166,000 request means the Division of Motor Vehicles can issue the licenses at only one location in Denver, further lengthening a months-long waiting list for the program that is supported by user fees and not state tax dollars.
Democrats sought to amend the legislation to allow the agency to spend the money and return the program to its original five locations, but the GOP blocked it on a party-line vote.
A lead Republican supporter of the measure argued that the program only promotes illegal immigration and defended the effort to limit its funding instead of pushing to repeal the law.
“The problem is the federal system is broken, and it’s programs like this that unfortunately encourage more” illegal immigration, said Sen. Kevin Lundberg, a Berthoud Republican who recalled his recent trip to the Texas-Mexico border.
Democratic Sen. Jesse Ulibarri, a major supporter of the program, said the remarks sought “to demonize people.”
“There was demagoguery that happened today about people who are stuck in a broken system,” the Westminster lawmaker said after the vote. “We are blaming individuals instead of blaming this broken system that Congress has allowed to perpetuate.”
The debate is the latest partisan fight on the measure after Republican budget writers took a stand in January by refusing to allow Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administration to use the fee revenues it collected for the service.
The issue resurrected a battle from 2013 when a Democratic-controlled legislature created the program with the support of law enforcement officials who consider it a public safety measure to ensure verifiable identification for residents in the country illegally and allow them to obtain car insurance.
Beyond the policy, the topic carries political importance in Colorado, where Latinos account for roughly 14 percent of the voting electorate. GOP lawmakers with substantial numbers of Latino voters were lobbied to change their vote, including Sen. Larry Crowder.
The Alamosa Republican voted against the supplemental spending measure but suggested he may support a stand-alone effort to restore the program. He knows the issue is a tough one for Republicans.
“Are there political issues and ramifications? Of course there are,” he said afterward. “But that’s the reality of what we do.”
John Frank: 303-954-2409, jfrank@denverpost.com or twitter.com/byjohnfrank
