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Immigrant ID Revisions Raise New Humanitarian Concerns

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico officials are running into criticism as they try to implement revisions to New Mexico's immigrant driver's license law. Advocates for vulnerable populations such as the homeless and victims of domestic violence say proposed regulations unnecessarily tighten documentation requirements for basic identification cards that poor, displaced people can use to secure jobs or apply for government health benefits. The Department of Taxation and Revenue is collecting public comments Tuesday on its plan to implement a new law that puts New Mexico in compliance with tougher federal identification requirements for driver's licenses, while extending driving privileges to immigrants in the country illegally. The executive director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness says the draft regulations rule out several kinds of identity documents that were once allowed.