Colorado braces for launch of driver’s licenses for immigrants

LAKEWOOD — Facing mounting criticism, Department of Revenue officials Wednesday fielded questions about their implementation plans for a new law that allows those in the country illegally to gain Colorado driver’s licenses.

At a press conference two days before the documents start to be issued, officials said they’ve been in close contact with the legislature and immigrant representatives about the problems facing the program.

The department reiterated that a lack of resources has limited the program.

The Latino community has been frustrated by the lack of Department of Motor Vehicles offices that offer the new licenses and the dearth of available appointments.

In all, the state is using five of its 56 licensing centers and issuing 155 appointments for the licenses per day. All but one of the locations is along the Interstate 25 corridor, raising alarm among immigrant groups in the corners of the state whose communities would have to drive hours to one of the locations offering the papers.

Given the approximate number of people seeking the licenses and available appointment slots, The Denver Post estimated that some applicants could have to wait more than three years before obtaining an appointment.

“Right now, we still need a little more information,” said Barbara Brohl, executive director of the department, adding that it is looking for opportunities to improve the program.

Officials announced one change: Applicants no longer have to pay a licensed translator to ensure that foreign documents have been correctly translated into English.

The meeting in advance of Friday’s hard launch of the program was held at a DMV office and attended by several state officials and staffers who helped draft the legislation. Brohl said data gathered after the program begins will need to be analyzed before any changes are made.

The legislation was signed into law in June 2013, giving the department 14 months to prepare for its enactment. A July “courtesy” scheduling rollout of the program proved problematic when the appointment system crashed on its first day because of an overload of hits.

“I disagree that it was a lack of planning,” Brohl said of the program’s problems. “We have been planning all along.”

Brohl said that before the department could make recommendations to the legislature, it needed to collect data on the program, which could take weeks, if not months, to compile.

As of Tuesday, 9,551 people were scheduled to go through the licensing process, which offers appointments up to 90 days out. Activists estimate some 150,000 could be seeking the new documents.

Officials said at the meeting that they hope to have Colorado’s driver’s manual, one of the problematic aspects of the rollout, translated into Spanish before the end of August. The department also reminded that those in the country granted temporary status — who are also eligible for a licenses under the new law — no longer have to make an appointment to obtain driving documents.

Officials hope the change will free up thousands of appointment spots.

Several members of Licenses For All, a Hispanic community group that first began pushing for licensing legislation in 2011, were present.

“The DMV are making good progress, but the community expects more (appointments),” Jose Ortiz, an organizer with the group, said. “We’re not happy. Too many people need these driver’s licenses.”

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com