DELAWARE - In March, Delaware Democrats introduced a bill that would limit how the Division of Motor Vehicles can share personal information about undocumented drivers with law enforcement.
House Bill 60 would prevent the DMV from disclosing the citizenship or immigration status, Social Security number (or lack thereof), taxpayer identification number (or lack thereof), or any documents that contain or reveal personal information of individuals who hold a Delaware driving privilege card. The bill allows the release of this data only with approval from the Delaware attorney general, through a valid court order, or for voter registration purposes.
These driving privilege cards are issued exclusively for undocumented immigrants to legally drive within the state, according to the DMV. The program began in 2016, and Delaware is one of 19 states, along with Washington, D.C., that offers such a program.
A woman from Mexico who has had one of these cards for nine years and asked to remain anonymous told CoastTV News she supports the bill.
"Knowing that there’s people in the Delaware government who are trying to pass a law that is going to protect our information, that’s a blessing for all the people that have this card," she said.
According to DelDOT, the agency has not recently been directly contacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding these drivers.
Democratic Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall of the 14th District is among the cosponsors of the bill, which is ready to be considered by the full General Assembly.