Nebraska now alone in denying driver's licenses to young immigrants

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Joe Duggan

LINCOLN — Nebraska now stands alone when it comes to denying driver’s licenses to young undocumented immigrants allowed to remain in the country by the Obama administration.

An appeals court Monday blocked a similar policy in Arizona, the only other state that refused driver’s licenses for young immigrants shielded from deportation under a controversial program started two years ago by President Barack Obama.

The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marks a victory for advocates who argued that the young immigrants were treated unequally by Arizona’s policy. But it can’t be used to predict the outcome of a pending lawsuit challenging Nebraska’s policy, said Amy Miller, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska.

“While we’re excited for the news for the young dreamers in Arizona, the Nebraska court will have to come to its own conclusion,” she said, using “dreamers” to refer to the category of immigrants often brought to the country illegally as children. The ACLU brought the lawsuit on behalf of four immigrants in the state who’ve been denied driving privileges.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/nebraska-now-alone-in-denying-driver-s-licenses-to-young/article_3580ddaa-1ba2-5e2b-9bc7-26af25349ee2.html

---

Related Stories at link:

Court halts denial of licenses for immigrants

Immigration could be defining issue in Nebraska governor race

Lawsuit challenging Nebraska's denial of driver's licenses to immigrants thrown out

[yeoman6987]

1. I don't know why you need to be an American to get a driver's License

Couldn't I go to France and get a driver's license there even though I am still American. We look to Europe for a lot of things. What do they do for foreigners? That is what we should do. I am positive that we can go there and get drivers licenses.

[COLGATE4]

3. Of course not. I've lived in several countries

and had their Drivers Licenses while there. In many it's required.

[Igel]

4. You don't.

But you need to be there legally or find a loophole.

I helped a French kid get an Oregon driver's license years ago. The DMV was stuck: I found a loophole by accident. He didn't want to have to go to drivers school, a requirement at the time. A rather expensive one. He was here on a tourist visa for 90 days.

When he decided he wanted to stay, he found that he needed to graduate high school. He was here on a tourist visa on his own. He paid US rates for taking GED classes and passed his GED. Then he got accepted to a 4-year school. He wasn't allowed to get a driver's license on his student visa, but already had one. One that was based on his birthday, not on the expiration of his visa.

Problem is the DL authorizes you to vote. It did then, and it does now. Then--this was in the '80s--there wasn't provision in the software or format of the DL to show that the license was issued to a non-citizen. Now most states have non-citizen licenses that usually expire when your work-permit expires or when your visa expires.

The thing is you need to be in the country legally. Dreamers are put into a gray area: There is no law authorizing them to be here. They are still here illegally. The enforcement agencies have just issued them deferrals saying, "We won't deport you today--we're too busy elsewhere." Another agnecy has issued them work permits since, well, there's nothing to *prevent* them from getting work permits if they're not told they're in the country illegally and that agency too busy to deport them is also too busy to pass along the word. It's an end-run around the Congress because the Legislative isn't being a good boy and doing what the Executive says. Then the Executive demands that nobody else pull an end-run around it.

[liberal N proud]

2. Do they really think it will stop them from driving?

Now you just have undocumented drivers and most assuredly with no insurance.