House wants to crack down on illegal immigration drivers

• The amended version on a Senate bill also included a provision requiring that Mississippi driver’s licenses reflect the sex of a person as it was identified at birth.

Lawmakers in Mississippi want to crack down on illegal or undocumented immigrant drivers.

The House amended SB 2322 on Tuesday, using a strike-all amendment to insert language that would invalidate the driver’s license of anyone who is in the country illegally, regardless of the state in which that license was issued, while they are in Mississippi.

According to State Rep. Joey Hood (R), if anyone has a driver’s license issued by a state to someone that has an unlawful presence in the United States “that is an illegal alien or undocumented immigrant” that license would not be valid Mississippi.

“Also, if they are pulled over with this driver’s license then the law enforcement officer shall refer them to ICE,” Hood told the House.

Justice Court judges would also be directed to refer people meeting that criteria to ICE should they come before them. Rep. Hood said the bill would not apply to people who are in the country legally, such as through a valid visa program.

“This legislation is not for individuals who have passports that have come in, went through the proper process to issue a driver’s license,” Hood explained. “I talked to the commissioner about this. They do have parameters that they set for individuals that are here on a legal basis.”

Following Hood’s description of the amended bill, State Rep. Chris Bell (D) asked how many states actually issue licenses to undocumented residents.

“There are states out there that issue driver’s licenses to individuals that have been admitted into this country illegally,” Hood said.

States allowing illegal or undocumented immigrants to drive include California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, and roughly a dozen more.

The House amended bill aims to address recent problems that have been identified along Mississippi’s roads.

“I do think there’s been some issues where some individuals have caused accidents and other things in this state,” Hood continued. “It allows whoever pulls them over to issue a citation or report it to immigration.”

Concern over the amended bill was also lodged by State Rep. Jeffery Harness (D), who questioned state law enforcement officials now being tasked with immigration enforcement.

“It’s been my understanding that the federal government, the federal government, is responsible for immigration,” Harness said.

Hood said the law enforcement officers have the option to simply write a citation instead of calling immigration enforcement. 

Also included in the strike-all amendment was a provision requiring that Mississippi driver’s licenses reflect the sex of a person as it was identified at birth. Rep, Hood said the measure would override any court orders allowing a person’s sex to be different than what was recorded at birth, should the bill become law.

The bill includes a reverse repealer, likely sending it to conference with the Senate. 

The strike-all version of SB 2322 passed the House with a vote of 76 to 39.