A federal judge has rejected Governor Ducey’s efforts to deny giving licenses to a group of immigrants protected by DACA.
When the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered then Governor Jan Brewer to begin issuing driver’s licenses to DACA recipients, the ruling missed a subset of people within the group.
Individuals protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program who were domestic violence victims, awaiting visa approvals, or here under humanitarian reasons were not listed as plaintiffs on the lawsuit.
As a result, the state interpreted the federal ruling to only include DREAMERS protected under DACA.
National Immigration Law Center Attorney Nicolas Espiritu said Monday’s ruling could potentially impact about 1,000 legal immigrants living in Arizona.
"These individuals will be able to go into MVDs throughout the state and present the same documents as all other individuals who are just like them, who have a document that proves their identity and proves their authorization to be in the country, and they'll be able to get a driver's license,'' he said.
The Governor’s office and the state Department of Transportation hired a private attorney to defend the policy, but have indicated how or whether they will appeal the ruling.
