Thread: 2nd Suit Filed Over Neb Immigrant License Policy

2nd suit filed over Neb immigrant license policy

By MARGERY A. BECK, Associated Press

Updated 11:59 am, Tuesday, June 11, 2013

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A civil rights organization filed a lawsuit Tuesday targeting Nebraska's denial of driver's licenses for young immigrants who came into the country as children with their families.

The lawsuit, filed in Lancaster County District Court by the Nebraska chapter of American Civil Liberties Union, is the second one prompted by the state's refusal to recognize young immigrants with work permits under an Obama administration policy as legal residents. Late last month, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund sued the state in federal court on behalf of a 24-year-old Nebraska City woman, saying Nebraska's policy violates her constitutional right to equal protection and is unconstitutional because it's trumped by federal law.

The ACLU's lawsuit takes a different tack. It says Nebraska officials violated state law that requires state agencies to go through a public hearing and comment period before making significant changes to state rules and regulations. The lawsuit says the policy also violates the state constitution's right to due process.

Last August, Gov. Dave Heineman declared that Nebraska would deny driver's licenses to the immigrants who became eligible to work in the U.S. as a result of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Several months later, he said Nebraska will vigorously defend its policy, even if the state is sued. He has declined to comment since the state was first sued over the policy last month.

ACLU Nebraska legal director Amy Miller told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Heineman should have had a state senator introduce that policy as legislation or initiated a public comment process with the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles.

"He does not have any authority to, with one stroke of a press release — not even an executive order, but a press release — to put out thousands of Nebraskans from the right to drive to get to college classes, to get to work, to get to church or medical appointments," Miller said. "That is a power grab that is absolutely forbidden by Nebraska law."
The ACLU names Heineman and the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles as defendants. It was filed on behalf of four people in Nebraska, all of whom were brought to the U.S. as children, have graduated from local high schools and are now authorized under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to work in the country.
A spokeswoman with the Nebraska Attorney General's office said Tuesday that the office will defend the lawsuit. She declined to comment further.

"Without a license to drive, you constantly face limits on what you can accomplish in your life," said 20-year-old Maria Hernandez, one of the four plaintiffs in the ACLU lawsuit. "It limits the jobs you can apply for, affects where you go to school, and how much you can support your family. Having a driver's license is essential to taking advantage of opportunities, and in many cases, making a living."

Hernandez, of Omaha, is a senior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, majoring in architectural engineering. While she has a job at a retail chain, she worries she will be unable to get a career-track job in her field because of her inability to get a driver's license, the lawsuit says.

Other defendants — including Hernandez's 17-year--old sister, a 23-year-old graduate in biology from Bellevue University and an 18-year-old Omaha woman who plans to go to medical school to become a pediatrician — also worry their careers will be derailed by the policy.

Nebraska, like the state of Arizona, has refused to view those in President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as legal residents. The Department of Homeland Security has said immigrants with work permits issued under the policy are lawfully present in the U.S.

Applicants for the deferment program must have come to the U.S. before they turned 16, be younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, be in school or have graduated from high school or GED program or have served in the military. They also were allowed to apply for a two-year renewable work permit.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/art...cy-4593362.php

Instead of being thankful for the generosity of being allowed to stay here legally for two years these young adults instead sue the state which has given them so much. They are never satisfied no matter what we do. All dreamers who sue should be put on the fastest route possible to deportation.

According to the reasoning these ungrateful idiots use all legal citizens who have lost their drivers license due to DUI's or stupid driving should sue too. I've known plenty of people who have lost their drivers license due to these reasons and they always find a way to get around by biking, walking, taking a taxi or getting rides from friends.

From experience I can honestly say illegals and anchor babies very seldom say thank you. They are usually the gimme and taker types that think they are special and above the rest of us.