Thread: No Driver's Licenses for "Deferred Illegals" in IA., MI., NE., AZ.

New Immigration Battle: Driver's Licenses

by Corey Dade
December 28, 2012 6:50 PM

In a sign of growing opposition to President Obama's immigration policy, Iowa has become the latest state to deny driver's licenses to young illegal immigrants who receive deferments from deportation.

Iowa joins Michigan, Nebraska and Arizona in denying licenses or non-operator identification cards because, officials say, Obama's deferred action program doesn't grant legal status in the United States. Officials in each state cite laws restricting the licenses to foreigners who reside here legally.

The program, which began in August, offers a renewable two-year reprieve for qualified young people who were brought to the United States as children.

Recipients also gain permission to work here legally. So far, more than 355,000 applicants have been accepted and nearly 103,000 have been approved, according to the latest government figures.

Iowa's Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino III said in a statement:

"The Iowa DOT understands the exercising of this prosecutorial discretion by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security does not grant lawful status or a lawful immigration path to persons granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. Rather, it is prosecutorial discretion extended in a blanket fashion to persons who are not lawfully authorized to be present in the United States."

Republicans have criticized the program as backdoor amnesty designed to boost Latino support for Obama. The four states denying licenses are led by Republican governors. One of them, Nebraska's Dave Heineman, has pledged to deny not only licenses, but welfare benefits and other services to illegal immigrants, unless required by state law.

Washington and New Mexico are among states that issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, although New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who is a Republican, wants her state's enabling law repealed. Illinois could be next to issue licenses after the state Senate recently approved a bill.

At issue is whether the federal program's authorization to stay and work here legally also confers temporary legalized status.

Iowa officials cite the memorandum issued by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that outlines the new policy: "This memorandum confers no substantive right, immigration status or pathway to citizenship."

Immigrant advocates say people in deferred action status qualify for licenses under the 2005 Real ID Act, which they have used to file lawsuits to overturn the bans in Arizona and Michigan.

The Real ID law, an anti-terrorism measure aimed at creating a national driver's license system, lists people in deferred action status among the authorized noncitizens who are eligible to obtain a temporary license.

Immigrant advocates also say the states are encroaching on the federal government's authority to set immigration policy, a separation reinforced by the Supreme Court ruling this year that severely weakened Arizona's immigration enforcement law.

"Deferred action has existed for decades and decades. It is a form of lawful presence, just like other forms of administrative relief under our immigration laws," says Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which is one of the groups suing in Arizona.

"There's really no legal or constitutional support for what these states are doing," says Saenz. "Suggesting that they are not here lawfully is a rhetorical political move that a number of these states are engaging in."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/12/28/168214192/new-immigration-battle-drivers-licenses

well I still say obama has to go no two way about it
No amnesty or dream act

Iowa stance on immigrant driver's licenses criticized

William Petroski, The Des Moines Register11:26p.m. EST December 27, 2012CommentsShare

The decision could affect almost 5,000 young Iowa immigrants who have been allowed to stay and work in the U.S. under Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.


Omar Mex Valle of Denison — sitting with his mother, Rosa Valle, 1-year-old nephew D'Angelo Mex, and sister Yuliana Mex — has already received an Iowa driver's license, but DOT officials say they will inform him his license is not valid in the wake of Thursday's decision. He is originally from Mexico.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave, The Des Moines Register)

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Immigrant advocates are criticizing Thursday's decision by the Iowa Department of Transportation to deny driver's licenses to young people whom the Obama administration has allowed to stay and work in this country.

However, state officials say the decision — which could affect almost 5,000 Iowa immigrants — is simply intended to comply with state law and federal guidelines. In addition, key leaders in the Iowa Legislature say they have no plans to enact measures requiring DOT officials to issue driver's licenses to such workers.

The decision is bad news for Omar Del Jesus Mex Valle, 24, of Denison, who is participating in a new federal program that lets him temporarily remain in the U.S. He's a native of Campeche on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula who came to Iowa when he was 15 years old to join his mother and father, who immigrated here illegally.

He told The Des Moines Register on Thursday that the agency issued him an Iowa DOT driver's license in October after he passed a written exam and a behind-the-wheel test.

Now he faces the imminent loss of his driver's license.

"Oh, my gosh! I already have it," he said. "I hope they don't take it from me. I need it to go to my job, and to do stuff for my family."

The Iowa DOT's decision applies to young people — many of whom were brought here illegally as children by their parents — participating in a federal initiative known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. President Barack Obama unveiled the program in June, saying it would allow some of those young adults to seek a two-year permit allowing them to live, work and study here without fear of deportation.

About 1.7 million people under age 30 nationwide are expected to meet the policy's age, education and clean criminal history conditions, according to data from the American Immigration Council in Washington, D.C. There are an estimated 11 million immigrants illegally residing in the U.S.

Iowa DOT Director Paul Trombino III said Thursday that his agency's decision means the DOT will not provide Iowa driver's licenses or state identification cards to those granted deferred action status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He said the determination was based on guidelines described by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in a memorandum issued June 15.

Trombino said Iowa law says that a driver's license or non-operator ID card shall be issued to a foreign national only if he is authorized to be present in the United States. The Iowa DOT does not have the legal authority to issue those items to people granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, he said.

Trombino said he was aware of only one driver's license and one state ID card that were issued by the DOT to illegal immigrants participating in the federal program, although he acknowledged there might be others. In each case, DOT staff will contact the individual and inform him that his license or state ID card is not valid, he added.

The DOT's decision came in response to a letter sent in October by the Iowa chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union that asked whether the state would grant driver's licenses to immigrants granted deferred action status. Federal Homeland Security officials have said each state can determine whether to issue licenses or extend other benefits to young immigrants who qualify for the deferred status.

Randall Wilson, the Iowa ACLU's legal director, said Thursday that he was surprised by the Iowa's decision. The ACLU maintains that state officials should be granting driver's licenses and state ID cards to such immigrants.

"It seems to me they are arguing about angels dancing on the head of a pin here. These people have been granted status to stay in the United States for a period of time, and whether you want to call it illegal, legal or indeterminate, it doesn't matter. They are here, so this issue needs to be addressed, either legislatively or in the courts," Wilson said.

The ACLU and others have already filed lawsuits in Michigan and Arizona challenging decisions in those states to deny driver's licenses to those allowed to work and stay in the country under the federal program.

Sandra Sanchez, a U.S. citizen and native of Mexico who heads an immigrant advocacy program for the American Friends Services Committee in Des Moines, also was sharply critical of the decision, calling it misguided.

"In my opinion, this was either plain ignorance or plain politics, and it is not fair to play politics with these kinds of people," Sanchez said. "We have already invested in their education. Why not give them the opportunity to fully integrate into our community so they can contribute back? You need a car to go to school, to go to work in Iowa. What are they thinking?"

Loris Chesser, a Des Moines immigration lawyer, believes DOT officials were wrong in their legal interpretation.

"How am I not authorized to be present if I turn myself in to the federal government? They have given me a work permission; they will let me travel and then come back. I don't see how you can say that is not authorized to be present," Chesser said.

Tim Albrecht, Branstad's spokesman, said the governor believes state officials should always follow Iowa law. "Should the Legislature wish to make changes, the governor will review their proposals and would carefully consider any legislation that arrived at his desk," Albrecht said.

But Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said Thursday that he didn't expect his chamber to consider such legislation when the 2013 session convenes in January.

"I don't see any scenario where we give driver's licenses to people who are here illegally," Paulsen said.

Two Iowa Republicans, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and U.S. Rep. Steve King, have each blasted Obama's program as a serious overreach of executive authority.

According to Stateline, a news service of the Pew Center on the States, illegal immigrants who qualify for the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program can qualify for driver's licenses in 17 states.

Officials have announced they are not eligible in six states.

Three states — Washington, New Mexico and Utah — allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses because their laws do not require proof of citizenship or legal residence.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2012/12/27/iowa-immigrant-drivers-licenses/1795427/

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f12/driver-lice...youths-263209/

Unless all States deny them, the problem remains.