May 23, 2003

Office of Regulations

Social Security Administration

100 Altmeyer Building

6401 Security Boulevard

Baltimore, MD 21235-6401

VIA E-MAIL: <regulations@ssa.gov>

**RE: Comments on Social Security Proposed Rules, "Assignment of SSNs
for Nonwork Purposes," 58 FR 14563, (RIN #0960-AF05), March 26, 2003**

Dear Social Security Administration:

The Brazilian Immigrant Center submits the following comments on
proposed rules published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2003.

[]{.mark}

The Brazilian Immigrant Center is a 501(C) non-profit that works to
defend the rights of immigrant workers. Immigrant workers need to travel
to and from work and they need to have a driver's license to do this
safely. Without a Massachusetts license they will be driving without
insurance and without law enforcement having the means to identify them.
This is a threat to public safety and national security.

**SSN Requirements to Obtain Driver's Licenses.** While not required by
the federal government, many state governments mandate that SSNs be
provided to obtain a driver's license. Created under the federal Social
Security Act, the SSN was originally designed to keep track of an
individual's earnings and eligibility benefits. In 1996, two major
pieces of federal legislation addressed the use of the SSN for the
purposes of obtaining a state-issued driver's license: the federal
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)
of 1996 ("Welfare Reform") and the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) of 1996 ("Immigration Reform").
The result of these changes has been that, although not mandated by the
federal government, many state driver's license agencies now require an
SSN to apply for a driver's license, and anyone without an SSN is not
able to obtain a driver's license in those states legally.

Section 656 (b) of IIRAIRA mandated that all state driver's licensing
agencies must request the SSN of all DL applicants and place the SSN on
the driver's license, resulting in the creation of a *de facto* national
ID card. A coalition of various advocacy groups led by the states
themselves vigorously opposed this provision on the grounds that it
violated privacy rights, would lead to increased identity theft, and
would result in increased discrimination against immigrants and certain
ethnic groups. Due to the overwhelming opposition, the Section 656(b)
mandate was repealed in October 1999.

However, PRWORA also contained a provision requesting that state
driver's license agencies record the SSN of applicants for certain
licenses and also that the SSN be recorded on certain court-issued and
medical documents for the purpose of child support enforcement.
Specifically, Section 466(a)(13)(A) directed SSNs be recorded on
applications for professional licenses, commercial driver's licenses,
occupational licenses, and marriage licenses.

Subsequent legislation was enacted eliminating the "commercial driver's
license" specification and applying Section 466(a)(13)(A) to the
issuance of **all** driver's licenses. State licensing agencies were
given until October 1, 2000 to implement policies and procedures for
Section 466 (a)(13)(A).

When Departments of Public Safety and Motor Vehicles began the process
of implementing Section 466(a)(13)(A) agency staff and advocates
requested an interpretation by the proper federal agency (in this case,
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services \[DHHS\] because the
provision dealt with child support enforcement). When asked if Section
466(a)(13)(A) mandated the SSN as a condition for a driver's license,
Commissioner David Gray Ross of the DHHS's Office of Child Support
Enforcement offered this interpretation:

> We interpret Section 466(a)(13)(A) to require that States have
> procedures which require an individual to furnish any social security
> number that he or she may have. \[However,\] Section 466(a)(13)(A)
> does not require that an individual have a social security number as a
> condition of receiving a license.

Additionally, Commissioner Ross recommended that state licensing
agencies require those applicants without an SSN to sign a sworn
affidavit, under penalty of perjury, stating that they do not have a SSN
nor are they eligible for an SSN.

Since the interpretation was issued to child support directors, and not
driver's licensing agencies, it is possible that many state driver's
license administrators were not aware of this interpretation. Whether
state driver's licensing agencies were aware of the interpretation or
not, Section 466(a)(13)(A) has been misapplied in numerous states. Many
state driver's license administrators now require an SSN as a condition
to apply for a driver's license. As a result of the SSN requirements,
advocates in some states report that, in addition to undocumented
immigrants, many noncitizens who are in the U.S. legally are not able to
obtain driver's licenses because they are ineligible for SSNs or have
not yet been assigned one. Other immigrants are in the process of
adjusting to legal status but have not yet received their SSN -- they
are also unable to obtain a driver's license.

**Consequences of the Proposed Rule.** Until recently, the SSA has
issued SSNs to legal immigrants who are not eligible for work
authorization for "nonwork purposes" including obtaining a driver's
license. This proposed rule would deny SSNs to millions of lawful
residents including many students and the spouses of students, temporary
employees, intracompany transferees, treaty investors, treaty traders,
and others. The U.S.'s immigration policies recognize that immigrants
with needed skills often have spouses and children, and those family
members are allowed to come to the U.S. with the primary visaholder.
While they may not have work authorization, the spouses and teenage
children of immigrant workers and students need driver's licenses to get
to work or to school, and to conduct their daily activities.

Restricting driver's licenses to lawful residents may result in
unintended consequences. For example, if individuals are unable to
obtain valid driver's licenses, they are likely to drive unlicensed and
uninsured, or may attempt to obtain false documents. This means more
unsafe roads, high insurance rates, and overwhelmed court systems. As a
result of SSN restrictions, these drivers will not take drivers' classes
or pass driving tests, will not be able to get insurance, and may be
more likely to flee the scene of an accident for fear of immigration
consequences unrelated to the accident. Nationally, chances are
approximately 14 in 100 that if an insured car occupant is injured in an
accident, an uninsured motorist caused the accident.[^1] These proposed
measures are likely to increase those numbers. In addition, immigrant
license restrictions result in numerous arrests for minor traffic
violations, clogging the public courts and diverting the time of law
enforcement officers who would be better used protecting public safety.

Every week we field calls from people who have been stopped and cited
for "driving without a license". Each of these cases costs taxpayers
more than a thousand dollars to process. These cases would all be
unnecessary if all immigrants were given the opportunity to obtain a
Social Security Number.

We understand that national security, document fraud, and identity theft
are serious concerns for the SSA and the American public. Steps should
be taken to ensure that individuals can prove that they are who they say
they are, and that documents are counterfeit-proof and tamper resistant.
However, denying nonwork SSNs to lawful residents for the purpose of
obtaining a driver's license does not increase public safety or national
security. In fact, when more unlicensed and uninsured drivers are on
America's roads, American communities are arguably less safe.

We respectfully urge you to reconsider the proposed rule and to continue
to issue valid nonwork SSNs to legal immigrants.

Sincerely,

Lizz Cannon\
Community Organizer\
Brazilian Immigrant Center\
139 Brighton Av. #7

Allston, MA 02134

[^1]: Insurance Research Council, *Uninsured Motorists 2000 Edition*,
    Malvern, PA: Insurance Research Council, 2001.