New Mexico MVD’s Denial of Driver’s Licenses and ID Cards Illegal, Class Action Says

A former mayor of Santa Fe, and a group of New Mexico residents have brought forward a class action lawsuit against New Mexico’s Motor Vehicle Division.

According to the class action lawsuit, the MVD of New Mexico’s Taxation and Revenue Department has been denying driver’s licenses and identification cards to citizens unable to provide certain pieces of information not required by New Mexico or federal law.

Former mayor David Coss and affected New Mexicans allege that the New Mexico MVD denies driver’s licenses and second-tier identification cards based on an individual’s inability to provide information pieces not required under New Mexico’s 2016 “two-tiered driver’s license law.”

The New Mexico MVD class action lawsuit states that the “two-tiered driver’s license law” of March 8, 2016 allows for two types of driver identification cards to be issued. According the class action lawsuit, the first type of identification is a full driver’s license to individuals who pass a driving test and provide proof of lawful status. This license allows the holder to drive lawfully, and is valid for federal identification purposes such as use at airports, to obtain insurance, etc.

The driver’s license class action lawsuit goes on to state that the second type of identification, a “non-federally compliant ID card,” is issued to individuals who pass a driving test but cannot provide proof of lawful status. The second type of identification may not be used for federal purposes.

Coss alleges that the MVD has failed to issue both driver’s licenses and non-federally compliant ID cards to qualifying individuals. He claims that “the Department [MVD] requires applicants for DACs and non-federally compliant ID cards to provide proof of an identification number — a requirement that the legislature neither enacted nor authorized the Department to create or impose.” According to Coss, the MVD provides inconsistent and unlawful information about the two types of identification.

Additionally, Coss alleges that the office turns individuals away “without notifying them of their eligibility for a DAC or a non-federally compliant ID card.” According to Coss, the MVD imposes unlawful requirements on citizens, and does not fully inform them of the office’s procedures and compliance with the law. According to the New Mexico class action lawsuit, the MVD does not have a policy for notifying individuals that they can appeal a denial of any form of identification.

Coss states that denying New Mexicans access to driver’s identification cards prevents them from carrying out tasks and necessities of daily life that require driving, and this practice especially impacts New Mexicans who are unable to provide certain types of information, like the homeless or those living in poverty.

Coss brings forward the class action lawsuit to “ensure that the Department complies with its statutory mandate to issue [state-issued driver’s licenses] and non-federally compliant ID cards…and its constitutional requirement to provide due process.”

The plaintiffs are represented by David H. Urias and Jeremy Farris of Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward PA, Gabriela Ibañez Guzmán of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, Leon Howard and Kristin Grier Love of ACLU-NM and Sovereign Hager of New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.

The New Mexico Driver Identification Class Action Lawsuit is David Coss, et. al. v. John Monforte, et. al., Case No. D-101-CV-2018-00302, in the First Judicial District Court, County of Santa Fe, State of New Mexico.