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Appeals Court: DREAMers Can Get Arizona Driver's Licenses

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided that young immigrants protected from deportation— known as Dreamers— can obtain an Arizona driver's license.

In a 42-page opinion Tuesday, a panel of the 9th Circuit ruled the plaintiffs suffered irreparable harm from Arizona's policy banning the licenses.

Plaintiff lawyers say the policy was discriminatory and impeded the immigrants' ability to work and go to school.

A federal judge in Phoenix issued a permanent injunction in the case in January 2015.

At a hearing in Tucson last August, Arizona attorneys argued to reinstate the driver's license ban for immigrants who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The state said it denied licenses over liability concerns and to reduce the risk of the licenses being used to improperly access public benefits.

Steve Goldstein was a host at KJZZ from 1997 to 2022.