U.S. rejects California driver licenses for undocumented immigrants

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

U.S. rejects California driver licenses for undocumented immigrants
Sharon Bernstein
Reuters
9:08 p.m. EDT, May 7, 2014

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California lawmakers are clashing with federal officials over the design of drivers' licenses for immigrants living in the country illegally, highlighting concerns about how to grant such permits while also making clear they do not confer legal status.

Ten U.S. states enacted laws allowing unauthorized immigrants to receive drivers' licenses or permits last year, including California and Illinois, while others have begun issuing the permits to young people who have temporary permission to remain in the United States.

This week, the Department of Homeland Security rejected California's proposed design for the permits, sparking a strong reaction from the state's Latino Caucus and other lawmakers who worked for years to pass the law to allow the permits.

"Our commitment is that this will not set us back," Assembly member Luis Alejo, a Democrat from the agricultural community of Watsonville, said on Wednesday.


Read more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-rt-us-usa-california-immigration-20140507,0,1870670.story

[pampango]

1. DHS allows drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants just not the design of California's.

In Alabama, officials said the licenses will be marked "FN" for Foreign National.

Immigrant rights groups have complained loudly about the distinctions, calling them unfair and saying that they could invite discrimination.

Seeking to avoid such accusations, officials in California decided to indicate that the state's licenses were not the same as federal identity papers on the back, not the front.

But this week, the federal Department of Homeland Security advised the state that its plan did not go far enough.

I like the idea of states granting drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants as a way to regulate who has permission to use the roads. I understand that immigrants rights groups are sensitive to the possibility of discrimination based on nationality. There should be a way to make the licenses obvious without making them a 'scarlet letter'.

[Ash_F]

2. The Department of Homeland Security being useful as always. /nt

[alp227]

3. Original reuters link

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/08/us-usa-california-immigration-idUSBREA4701520140508

So can't California just move that notice to the front, like the other 2 states cited in this article?