Wash. drivers license applications won’t ask birthplace

SEATTLE (AP) – Driver’s-license applications in Washington state will no longer ask where a person was born.

The Seattle Times reports as of Friday, a 120-day, emergency rule with the change has taken effect, including also applicants for permits and ID cards, while officials seek a permanent modification to state law.

The move is among a series of changes the Washington State Department of Licensing is making in response to outrage over its policy, uncovered by a Seattle Times report earlier this month, of providing photos and driver’s-license applications to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That information can be used to help arrest and deport people.

The release didn’t say if the application would continue to note the IDs a person used to obtain a license. Those IDs could include a foreign passport or other documents that might signal someone doesn’t have legal status.

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Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com