On Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an executive order issued by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in August 2012, which denied driver’s licenses to young immigrants who have received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The ruling reverses a May 2013 decision in which District Judge David Campbell sided with Brewer’s administration, denying that her policy was unconstitutional because federal law would take precedence over it.
Immigrants can qualify for DACA and receive temporary work permits and remain in the U.S. without risk of deportation for two years, provided that they are under 30, they arrived in the country before the age of 16, have a high school diploma, GED or served in the military, and have not been convicted of a significant misdemeanor or felony. Brewer’s attorneys claimed the driver’s license ban was put in place to prevent improper access to public benefits and for the State of Arizona to avoid assuming “the liability of giving licenses to people who aren’t authorized to be in the country.”
Monday’s ruling is a victory for immigrants’ rights advocates, particularly in Arizona where 87 percent of workers commute to work by car. Only Arizona and Nebraska have issued license denials, however a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the policy in Nebraska this year.
Immigration reform has been thrust into the spotlight this summer as tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors, mostly from Central America, have entered the U.S. illegally this year. The White House announced yesterday that the majority of these young immigrants will be deported because they will not qualify for assistance for “humanitarian reasons.”
Check a debate between Jan Brewer and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson on whether states and local governments have the right to enforce their own immigration laws.
