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Colorado Moves Closer To Immigrant License Showdown

DENVER (CBS DENVER/AP) — The Colorado Legislature is moving closer to a partisan showdown over granting immigrants driver's licenses regardless of legal status.

The GOP Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill related to the state agency that oversees driver's licenses.

The state Department of Revenue has asked budget writers for permission to spend about $166,000 that they've already collected from immigrants who have paid for licenses, driving permits, and identification cards.

For many unauthorized immigrants these driving licenses play a crucial role in maintaining employment. The Division of Motor Vehicles shows the state of Colorado has issued 7,934 driver's licenses and 1,655 state identification cards since the program began in 2014.

Felipe Castro, an unauthorized immigrant from Mexico, had a license that expired earlier this week, as reported by The New York Times. Mr. Castro has lived in the United States for more than a decade.

"I cannot renew it," Mr. Castro, 51, told The New York Times. "We suffer. When we have one crash, we are ready to lose everything. We go to jail. We suffer the deportation."

The program receives no state funding and is operated through user fees. Without the funds, the department has said it may need to reduce the offices that process the licenses from five statewide to one.

The Senate voted down a Democratic attempt to restore the funding. The Democratic House is likely to add the money, setting up a partisan showdown.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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