Getting a New Hampshire driver’s license would be practically impossible for refugees and more complicated for immigrants who are studying or working here under a proposed law that has passed the House.

The legislation, HB452, makes sweeping changes to a long-standing law about how and whether “non-resident aliens” can obtain driver’s licenses, regardless of whether they are here as students, on a work visa, as refugees, or have a green card that provides permanent residency status.

The bill was approved by the House, 198-162, with overwhelming support from the Republican majority, and is headed for consideration by the state Senate.

Prime sponsor Rep. Tom Walsh, a Hooksett Republican who also represents Dunbarton, said the bill particularly applies to people who have come to the U.S. and obtained refugee status at the border but have not had their claim be subject to a ruling from federal immigration courts, which would provide a green card. At that point, he said in public testimony, he feels they have “lawful presence” in the country but are not yet here “legally” and therefore shouldn’t be given a driver’s license.

“The ability to drive on the roads of New Hampshire is a privilege, it’s not a right. … I find it very unfair to the law-abiding citizens of this country that we hand out driver’s licenses to people who are currently claiming asylum but have not had their case adjudicated in the immigration courts,” he said in testimony before the House Transportation Committee. “They should not get a license until they complete court cases and become lawful permanent citizens.”

Jessica Pelletier, director of the Immigration Legal Assistance Program at Ascentria Care Alliance, said Walsh has misinterpreted immigration law. Once people are granted refugee status, she said, “these people are present legally even if they don’t have a green card.”

As currently written, the bill would have sweeping on other immigrants, not just refugees, in several ways: The biggest change to current law is that it would switch several licensing requirements that are currently optional and make them mandatory.

That includes requiring “certification from the foreign government regarding the person’s driving record and licensing status, or proof of previous vehicle operation in the foreign country or proof of completion of an approved driver education course acceptable to the director, or written or other testing.” Such evidence can be very difficult for refugees to obtain.

“There’s no way that anybody from the countries that has expelled them and threatened to kill them and maybe killed their fathers and brothers is going to send them bureaucratic information about a driver’s license,” said Richard Minard, executive director of Building Community in New Hampshire, a group that helps refugees settle. Since it’s hard to keep a job without being able to drive, the change could force working refugees into unemployment.

The bill would also require that the license “shall bear a marking indicating that it is a nonresident alien driver’s license.” The new requirements would apply to license renewals even if an immigrant has previously received a driver’s license without them.

The bill would also forbid the license from being used as identification for voting. Since immigrants who have not obtained citizenship cannot vote in any local or federal election, that provision would not create any change.

Pelletier predicted that if the law is passed and signed by Gov. Ayotte, it would face court challenges for violating the equal-protection clause of the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. “Federal law trumps state law on these issues,” she said.

David Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@cmonitor. com