Supreme Court Bans Arizona From Denying 'Dreamers' Driver's Licenses

The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from Arizona over a lower court ruling that forced the state to grant driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants protected by President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

When President Obama created the DACA program, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer told state officials they could not issue driver's licenses to people protected by the program. The state requires non-citizens to prove they are legally allowed to be in the United States in order to obtain a license. The state refused to accept permits that were given to DACA recipients, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the state. 

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the policy last year. The court ruled that states can not make distinctions between different classes of non-citizens. Arizona countered that DACA was enacted through a memo from the Department of Homeland Security and not by a law passed by Congress. 

Because the Supreme Court refused to take the case, the lower court ruling stands and Arizona must issue driver's licenses to DACA recipients. 

The Trump administration had urged the high court not to take the case because DACA has been rescinded. 

The battle over the DACA program has not been settled as the courts have prevented Trump from ending the program, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the administration's case to terminate the program in February. Congress continues to be locked in a stalemate over immigration reform. 

Photo: Getty Images


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