Judge rules state immigration rules are biased

DENVER - A Denver District Court judge ruled Thursday that Colorado Division of Motor Vehicle rules requiring driver's license applicants to produce two or more documents to prove legal residence discriminate against the poor and cause undue harm.

Judge Larry Naves granted an injunction that will prohibit the DMV from using the rules.

The agency issued a rule on Sept. 6 requiring two forms of identification after the Legislature passed a law prohibiting state benefits for people who cannot prove legal residency in the United States. The rule has been modified several times since then.

A group representing the poor had filed a lawsuit saying state law requires that agencies publish notice of proposed rules, hold public meetings on them, and then publish new rules in the Colorado Code of Regulations. None of those procedures were followed for the two-document rule, the lawsuit said.

Naves said the rules denied legal residents their right to get a Colorado identification card or driver's license. Without one of those forms of identification, the suit alleged that residents don't have access to basics such as housing, employment and even auto insurance.

The plaintiffs said many residents with numerous documents proving proof of residency, including U.S. passports, were told by the department their documents were insufficient, and they were denied licenses.