Oregon voters have successfully delayed the implementation of a state law that would give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses when enough of them signed a petition to put the issue on the ballot in the November 2014 elections. The law, which was scheduled to go into effect at the start of 2014, cannot be implemented until after the November 2014 referendum.
After Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) signed the law in May, Oregonians for Immigration Reform “gathered 71,000 signatures in just a few months to refer the measure to the November 2014 ballot,” and it succeeded when just over 58,000 were determined to be valid by Oregon’s Secretary of State.
As Judicial Watch notes, Oregon’s Senate Bill 833 allows “special driver cards” to be given to illegal immigrants so long as they pass a driving test and prove they have been an Oregon resident for a year. It also allows the “Department of Motor Vehicle offices” to “accept foreign identification cards issued by the consulates of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico and South Korea” so long as they are not expired.
Kitzhaber said the measure would allow illegal immigrants to “come out of the shadows” and “contribute to our economic recovery.”
Oregon is attempting to join California, Illinois, and ten other states that have passed laws granting licenses to illegal immigrants.
“If the results of the election reverse the legislation, DMV will cancel all work on the Driver Card program, but if the election upholds the legislation, we’ll launch 30 days after the results are official,” an administrator said.