Legislature passes bill invalidating driver’s licenses for undocumented migrants

CASPER (WNE) — The Senate on Monday passed a bill part of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus’s Five and Dime Plan that seeks to invalidate out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants in Wyoming.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Pepper Ottman, R-Riverton, will head to Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk for a signature or veto if the House of Representatives signs off on one amendment to the bill added in the Senate.

The bill states that any “driver’s license or nonresident operating privilege document” issued to an “unauthorized alien” outside of Wyoming will be invalid in the Cowboy State if the license or card holder does not provide proof of lawful presence in the United States.

Nineteen states — including Colorado and Utah — have some form of laws allowing for “unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The bill creates carve outs for employees of the United States government operating a government owned or leased by the government on official business; nonresidents with a valid license — in their immediate possession — issued by the licensing authority in their place of residence; nonresidents on active duty in the armed forces of the United States with a valid license issued by their state of residence; and nonresident full-time students at the University of Wyoming, any Wyoming community college, any school licensed in this state offering post-secondary education or at a parochial, church or religious school with a valid license issued by their state of residence.

The bill passed the Senate with a 22-8-1 vote and the House with a 45-15-2.

A bill prohibiting unauthorized immigrants with driver’s licenses from other states from driving in Wyoming was brought forward last year, but it died in committee.

This story was published on February 25, 2025.