By Sovereign Hager, legal director

New Mexicans can now more easily access driver’s licenses and identification cards after a settlement agreement with the state.

New Mexico has a two-tiered driver’s license system that gives New Mexicans the choice to opt in or out of the federal REAL ID Act requirements. However, the Motor Vehicles Division was illegally denying access to the REAL ID alternative by requiring unnecessary and burdensome paperwork. MVD also illegally denied licenses and IDs without informing people that they could appeal a denial.

On behalf of New Mexicans illegally denied the second tier licenses and IDs, the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty along with Somos un Pueblo Unido, New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, the ACLU-NM, and Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward PA sued the state and the MVD ultimately agreed to a settlement.

After filing for a temporary restraining order, the MVD immediately eliminated the illegal requirement to get a non-REAL ID and agreed to notify families about the appeals process. The final settlement agreement requires MVD to train workers, provide accurate informational materials to the public and on its website, and to engage in a public information campaign to notify New Mexicans of the new requirements.

You can find a press release about the victory here: https://www.nmpovertylaw.org/2018/08/new-mexicans-prevail-in-drivers-license-lawsuit/

The settlement agreement can be found here: https://www.nmpovertylaw.org/17-stipulated-order-2018-08-15/