Nebraska's policy denying driver’s licenses to immigrants in deferred action program is debated...
Source: Omaha World Herald
By Joe Duggan
LINCOLN — Nebraska defended its status as the only state in the union to deny driver’s licenses to immigrants who arrived illegally as children Wednesday, while attorneys for the immigrants urged a judge to declare the practice unconstitutional.
Nebraska law requires the denial of driver’s licenses for those who lack “lawful status” to live in the state, said Assistant Attorney General Ryan Post during Wednesday’s civil trial in Lancaster County District Court. That includes young immigrants temporarily allowed to stay in the country under a controversial federal program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
“We do admit, they have lawful presence, no question about that,” Post said. “They lack lawful status. The DACA program gave them lawful presence, but not lawful status.”
The policy violates the equal protection clause of the Nebraska Constitution by discriminating against a single category of immigrants who receive federal deferred action protection, said Araceli Martinez-Olguin, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. In the nearly three years since the policy began, the state has issued hundreds of licenses to non-citizens with a similar deferred action status as roughly 3,500 DACA recipients in Nebraska, she added.
FULL story at link. Entire title didn't fit: Nebraska's policy denying driver’s licenses to immigrants in deferred action program is debated before judge
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