Beginning Monday, illegal immigrants in Oregon no longer will be able to get driver's licenses. Last week, Michigan stopped issuing new licenses to all but citizens and legal permanent residents.

Maryland announced this month that starting in 2010, it will require applicants to prove they're in the USA legally.

In four of the five remaining states that allow illegal immigrants to drive — Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, Utah and Washington — there have been attempts to reverse course, according to the National Immigration Law Center (NILC). The exception: Hawaii.

"Oregon is one of the few states in the country that didn't have these ID requirements for driver's licenses," says Patty Wentz, spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Kulongoski. "That made us one of the weak links."

Kulongoski, a Democrat, directed the state's motor vehicle agency to require a valid Social Security number and other proof of identity. A legal resident who doesn't have a Social Security number can present other ID, such as a current visa.

Some officials who are changing policies cite a federal law that sets standards for licenses to deter fraud and terrorism, but political pressure also motivated the changes.

Last year, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, ignited a firestorm when he proposed letting illegal immigrants have licenses. He dropped the plan after protests from county officials, state and federal lawmakers and opponents of illegal immigration such as NumbersUSA.

"The whole New York debacle really scared a lot of policymakers," says the NILC's Tyler Moran. "People are folding before they're even forced to."

In Michigan, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land now issues new licenses only to citizens and legal permanent residents. The state Legislature is considering her proposal to issue licenses to legal but temporary residents.

Martha Gonzalez-Cortes of Michigan's Office of Migrant Affairs says she's concerned that illegal immigrants will drive without licenses and insurance. "As the number of accidents involving uninsured drivers goes up, that will get passed along to the average consumer," she says.

In Maryland, Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, this month directed the transportation department to create a single driver's license that complies with the new federal law and rules out illegal immigrants. He dropped a plan for a two-tier system that would have allowed an illegal immigrant a license OK for driving but not for boarding planes or entering federal facilities.

"The governor felt we could not allow our state to become the only state on the East Coast to allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses," spokesman Rick Abbruzzese says. "The governor did not want Maryland to become a magnet state for people trying to get driver's licenses."

Utah state Rep. Glenn Donnelson, a Republican, has tried for four years to stop illegal immigrants from getting driver "privilege cards," which allow them to drive legally.

Donnelson says his bill may have a better shot this year because of momentum in other states. "I think the citizens are a little upset because the federal government's not doing anything about this problem," he says.