February 1, 2017

Director Lucinda M. Babers

Department of Motor Vehicles
P.O. Box 90120
Washington, DC

Dear Director Babers:

I have made a commitment to District residents to do everything I can to protect them from
persecution and separation under the presidents alarming new immigration policies. With that
goal in mind, I am writing to seek clarification on how the Department of Motor Vehicles
administers certain portions of the District of Columbia Drivers Safety Amendment Act of 2013
relating to sharing personal information. 1 Given the likely changes in immigration enforcement
with the new presidential administration, I want to ensure that residents information relating to
their legal presence is fully secure. Specifically, I am concerned about the limited purpose
drivers license and how the Department might reconcile its ability to release personal
information to federal government agencies with its responsibility to protect information relating
to legal presence.

Although the Act requires the Department to protect information relating to legal presence, I
want to confirm with you that information requests permitted by other portions of the District of
Columbia Code will not serve as a backdoor for immigration-related requests. In general, the
Department may not share personal information. 2 An exception exists for government
agenc[ies] . . . in carrying out [their] core functions, but the Department may not provide
information relating to legal presence absent a warrant or subpoena. 3

The Department website as well as the committee report for the Act acknowledge the danger of
limited purpose drivers licenses being used as an effective signal of immigration status. At the
time that the Act authorized limited purpose drivers licenses, the Council of the District of
Columbia noted the concern that the new limited purposes drivers licenses could be used as a
conduit for immigration enforcement. 4 Consistent with this concern, the Council included certain

1 District of Columbia Drivers Safety Amendment Act of 2013, D.C. Law 20-62 (2013).
2 D.C. Code 50-1401.01b(b)
3 Id. 50-1401.01b(c)(2), (d)(5)
4 Council of the District of Columbia, Committee on Transportation and the Environment Report on B20-275,

District of Columbia Drivers Safety Amendment Act of 2013, at 5-6 (2013)

specific immigration-related protections in the Act, and the Department has acknowledged these
protections on its website. 5

With these provisions in mind, I want to clarify with you how the Department would respond to
information requests that on their face appear neutral but that are in fact intended for
immigration enforcement. Accordingly, I respectfully request answers to the following questions
by no later than February 22, 2017.

1. Has the Department ever received bulk information requests, e.g., a list of all
license holders under a particular class of licenses?

2. What is the typical format of information requests by federal government

agencies for personal information? And do such requests include specific
reasoning for the request?

3. Were the Department to receive a blanket request for a list of limited purpose
drivers licenses, how would the Department handle that request?

Sincerely,

Brianne K. Nadeau
Councilmember, Ward 1

Cc: Councilmember Mary M. Chair, chairperson, Committee on Transportation and the

Environment

5. D.C. Code 50-1401.01b(d)(5), 1401.05(g); see Limited Purpose Credential FAQs, DEPT OF MOTOR
VEHICLES (last visited Jan. 31, 2017), https://dmv.dc.gov/node/1120167.