English

Quarter of a million people have benefited from SB-251 program

IN THE CELEBRATION| Senator Dominic Moreno poses with the original design of the SB-251 licenses. (Photo/ Courtesy Press DMV)

DMV LICENSING OFFICES WILL BEGIN ISSUING THEM

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

Haga click aquí para leer la versión en español

Jairo was 19 years old that morning in September 2014. He was on his way to work when a policeman stopped him. That young man did not have a driver’s license and he immediately received a date to go to court. “He appeared before the judge. Fortunately for him, by the time of the court, he already had an appointment assigned for getting a driver license of the SB-251 program. That judge allowed him to return later,” said Pilar Carrillo, member of “Driver License for All.”

Carrillo, who accompanied Jairo to court, recalls that Jairo only had to pay a fine and then bring his license. “This is the case in which the SB-251 license program changed the lives of many people. Jairo is now a professional with a family” says Carrillo. This community activist does not fall short. Celebrating a decade since the enactment of the law that allowed the granting of driver’s licenses to people without immigration status, some 250,000 people have obtained that document.

Message from Hickenlooper and Polis

The bill, signed into law on June 5, 2013, by then-Governor John Hickenlooper, created a self-funded program that allowed undocumented residents and international students to legally obtain a Colorado driver’s license or identification card. “Ten years ago, we signed the bill to empower new Coloradans,” the Colorado Former Governor said. Colorado’s DMV began issuing documents for this program in July 2014.

During a ceremony to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the SB-251, Governor Jared Polis announced that all 36 state driver license offices will issue these documents. The Colorado governor also noted that the DMV has begun calling the driver licenses and ID cards issued under the SB-251 program as “standard” to differentiate them from those that are dentified as Real IDs.

“Here in Colorado, we know that our immigrants strengthen the fabric of who we are. With the bipartisan SB251, more than 250,000 Coloradans have been able to obtain their driver’s licenses and auto insurance, making us safer on the roads and helping to lower auto insurance rates for all. We are proud to continue building on this important work today and expanding access to all DMV locations.”

A voice of the community

“Being able to obtain a driver’s license was a step toward greater safety on our roads and in our communities. It has given me the confidence to take my children to school, to the doctor, to sports and in my daily life. I was able to register my car in my name and get auto insurance and now I drive without fear,” said Evelyn Rodríguez, community leader of Grupo Mayas Pueblo.