· Border Crossing Law Firm · By Shahid Haque · From the Border Crossing Law Firm media archive.
Shahid opposes HB 302, which would eliminate Montana driver's-license tests in Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. He argues that the same traffic knowledge is tested in every language, the road test still requires practical communication, and an English-only rule would make unlicensed driving more likely rather than make roads safer.
The bill was one of several 2011 proposals that used immigration politics to regulate people who were lawfully present. Shahid's response kept the focus on the actual purpose of licensing: safe driving.
The anti-immigrant bills continue to be introduced in the Montana Legislature. Rep. Janna Taylor (a Republican) introduced a mean-spirited and pointless bill that would restrict driver's license tests to English only. This bill won’t save any money, time or resources.
This bill succeeds in only one thing — marginalizing non-English speakers. Beartooth NBC did a story on this bill. The State of Montana already administers the written exam in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. The state already has the computer system to do this, and it costs us nothing to continue to use that system. There is a reason why we require drivers to take a test and be licensed: To make our streets safer.
Whether the test is given in Spanish, Russian, or Chinese, it’s the same test. It ensures that the driver understands how to obey the rules of the road. As far as I know, the driving test itself is only conducted in English. Therefore, a driver would still have to demonstrate his or her capacity to follow the rules in English. If they can’t, I would assume they would fail the driving test. There is simply no reason to restrict the test to English only.
You would only be creating the risk that non-English speaking drivers would drive without a license. In addition to being deeply misguided, this bill is also a non-issue. I believe that very few non-English speakers are taking the test in their native language. It should be noted that this is not about ensuring that drivers are legally authorized to be here in the country. That is already a requirement for a license. This is targeting lawful residents who simply want to drive.
Only a handful of states have passed a law like this. We don’t need to be one of them. Let’s concentrate on what matters to the people of the State of Montana and set aside divisive bills like this, which are only distractions from what we elected our representatives to do.