Brewer To Stop Issuing Driver's Licenses For Anyone In Deferred Action Programs

Gov. Jan Brewer has opted to stop issuing driver's licenses to people in all deferred action programs.

The decision comes after a federal judge told the state it’s action to refuse to issue licenses for people in the president’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was probably unconstitutional discrimination, because the state allowed those in other programs to drive.

The governor’s decision would, among others, impact women who are the victims of domestic violence. Attorney Karen Tumlin of the National Immigration Law Center blasted the move.

“The state of Arizona , in its myopic desire to discriminate against DREAMers, against young immigrants, has also now targeted survivors of domestic violence,” Tumlin said.

Jennifer Chang Newell of the ACLU says the governor is mistaken if she thinks the move will provide legal cover for the state.

“Governor Brewer can put as much lipstick on this pig as she wants to, but at the end of the day, it's still a pig,” Chang Newell said.

Gubernatorial press aide Andrew Wilder would not explain why the state had issued licenses to people in the other deferred action programs until now.