Foreigners who have overstayed their permission to be in the United States should be required to give up North Dakota identification cards, the state's top driver licensing official says.

North Dakota's Transportation Department wants lawmakers to declare that when an immigrant's visa has expired, the person's North Dakota driver's license - as well as photo IDs issued by the agency - will become invalid. The change would not apply to resident aliens.

Keith Magnusson, director of the department's driver and vehicle services office, said transportation officials expect similar rules to come from Congress in the next few years.

"I think it's just part of this whole effort in the country to really keep track of people," Magnusson told members of the Senate Transportation Committee on Friday.

Christopher Dodson, a spokesman for North Dakota's Roman Catholic bishops, said the proposal would discriminate against foreigners.

"Singling them out by requiring what amounts to a scarlet letter on their identification, and making their identification dependent on their immigration status, serves no legitimate purpose," Dodson said at a committee hearing.

Immigration rules are complex, and best left to federal authorities, Dodson said. "Since when is the North Dakota Department of Transportation charged with keeping track of people?" he asked.

The legislation also could spur a black market for identification among illegal immigrants who don't want to leave the country, Dodson said.

The committee took no immediate action on the measure Friday.

Magnusson said North Dakota doesn't want to be a "weak link" when the federal government begins tying state identification to legal immigration status.

"We're not trying to discriminate in any way. We're just looking at the integrity of our drivers' licenses," he said.

Dodson said the measure would be hard on college students, because they often wait months to have student visas renewed. But Magnusson said the Transportation Department would extend legal identification for foreign citizens who are waiting to move through the federal system.

"We'll take care of them in that regard, because they're here legally," Magnusson said.

The bill is SB2099.