Judge: Immigration law leads to longer tag lines

By: Tiffiny Woo | Eufaula Tribune
Published: October 13, 2011

Barbour County residents now need more than a tag receipt to renew their car tag.

The state now requires residents to show proof of citizenship before tags can be renewed. This applies to every driver on the receipt. It’s a part of Alabama’s new immigration law.

That means Barbour County drivers are spending more time in line while the clerk verifies the citizenship of every driver on each tag renewal. It also means many citizens have been turned away from the Judge of Probate’s office because they didn’t have the necessary documentation with them when they came to the courthouse.

“Usually when it’s a husband and wife, for example, one comes in to renew the tag,” Probate Judge Nancy Robertson says. “But if they are both on the tag receipt, we need to see a copy of both of their driver’s licenses.”

Lines are already long, admits Robertson, and having to verify citizenship only makes the wait longer.

Long lines are especially a problem in Eufaula. Last Friday at the Clayton courthouse, the probate’s office closed with nobody standing in line. But that wasn’t the case in Eufaula.

“We had people in line when we closed in Eufaula, mainly because we’ve got more people who go to that office. It’s making everyone really unhappy,” says Robertson.

More on this story will be published in the weekend edition of the Tribune, available Friday morning.