Court asked to stop immigrant license checks in NM

SANTA FE, N.M.—Four state legislators and a Silver City woman asked a judge on Wednesday to stop Gov. Susana Martinez's administration from trying to verify whether immigrants who received a driver's license in New Mexico still live in the state.

An Albuquerque law firm and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a lawsuit in state District Court in Santa Fe on behalf of the Democratic lawmakers and the Hispanic woman.

The suit seeks to block a state agency from checking a random sample of 10,000 license holders who are foreign nationals to determine their residency.

New Mexico is one of only three states -- the others are Washington and Utah -- where an illegal immigrant can get a driver's license because no proof of citizenship is required. However, Utah's permits cannot be used as government ID cards.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/08/25/court_asked_to_stop_immigrant_license_checks_in_nm/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news