New law will allow undocumented immigrants to get their Colorado driver’s license a lot faster

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Since 2014, Colorado has allowed undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver's license. This new law changes some of the requirements outlined in the previous bill.

Undocumented immigrants are no longer required to provide an income tax return from the previous year. They also won't need to prove that they've been living in Colorado for at least two years. Nor will they need to have a social security number or individual taxpayer ID number.

"So this is really helpful to the immigrant community when immigrants arrive in the U.S and they apply for asylum Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes their passport and ID so it's very important for them to have some form of ID," said immigration attorney, Robert Walsh.

Others like El Paso County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez have a different view. He said if he could have, he would've vetoed the law.

"So I have several concerns on this bill and the first of which is that this just immediately allows somebody who we have no idea about their background or capabilities to drive in our streets, it's a public safety concern," said Gonzalez.

The law will officially take effect next year.