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WASHINGTON -- The state of Michigan reversed its policy on Friday and will now offer driver's licenses to undocumented young people who received deferred action from the federal government. A handful of states banned those immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses, even after they were granted the ability to stay in the United States for two years and work legally under the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. The issue is critically important to deferred action status recipients -- many of whom call themselves Dreamers, after the never-passed Dream Act -- who can now work were banned from driving in those states. Michigan was one of five states -- along with Iowa, Arizona, Nebraska and North Carolina -- that prohibited driver's licenses for Dreamers who were granted deferred action. Iowa recently changed its policy to allow licenses, while North Carolina and Arizona officials said they were reviewing state policies. Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said that after her state's review, officials determined deferred action recipients were legally eligible. They can begin to apply for driver's licenses beginning on Feb. 19 and will receive a new type of limited-term license or state ID. "Michigan will only issue driver's licenses to individuals who are here legally," Johnson said in a statement. "The feds now say they consider these young people to be lawfully present while they participate in the DACA program, so we are required to issue driver's licenses and identification cards. I will continue to follow the law." The reversal in Michigan comes after the Obama administration clarified the deferred action policy in a FAQ posted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website on Jan. 18, stating that DACA recipients technically do not have legal status to stay in the country, but can be considered to have lawful status: The fact that you are not accruing unlawful presence does not change whether you are in lawful status while you remain in the United States. However, although deferred action does not confer a lawful immigration status, your period of stay is authorized by the Department of Homeland Security while your deferred action is in effect and, for admissibility purposes, you are considered to be lawfully present in the United States during that time. More than 150,000 undocumented young people have received deferred action status nationwide since the government began accepting applications in mid-August. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state of Michigan last year over its driver's license policy, and the group applauded the change on Friday. "Today’s announcement is a tremendous victory for the thousands of young people who may not have been born here, however have only known this country to be home," Miriam Aukerman, staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan, said in a statement. "They have the same dreams as other young Americans -- contribute to their communities and make a difference in the world. ... We look forward to dismissing our lawsuit and turning the page to a more welcoming and inclusive Michigan." Michigan's new licenses and IDs will expire on the day the applicant's legal presence expires. They also will now be given to all immigrants who are in the U.S. under temporary visas. Johnson said the special cards will aid in preventing voter fraud by making non-citizens easily identifiable. "This is another tool to help clerks ensure that only qualified residents cast a ballot on Election Day," Johnson said. "This will also help prevent noncitizens from inadvertently registering to vote or from voting, which could result in felony charges." Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/01/michigan-deferred-action-drivers-licenses_n_2602184.html

Link - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/19/dreamers-michigan-drivers-licenses_n_2331427.html Dreamers Sue To Stop Michigan From Denying Driver's Licenses WASHINGTON -- Civil rights groups sued Michigan Secretary Of State Ruth Johnson ® on Wednesday for blocking driver's licenses for undocumented young people given deportation relief by the president. Denying the group licenses makes many unable to use their newly-granted work authorization, attend school or simply get around. The American Civil Liberties Union and National Immigration Law Center filed the Michigan suit on behalf of three undocumented young people and a youth immigrant group, One Michigan. Receiving driver's licenses is a significant issue to the estimated 1.76 million young undocumented immigrants -- often called Dreamers -- in Michigan who may be eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Although there are no breakdowns for how many young people in Michigan have been granted deferred action, 102,965 people were approved nationwide as of Dec. 13. The two-year deferred action means that in most states, those undocumented immigrants can apply for driver's licenses. But Michigan, Arizona and Nebraska governments have refused to grant licenses to Dreamers who have been granted deportation reprieve. "They're really unable to work and to use benefits of that status because they can't drive," said Karen Tumlin, an attorney for the National Immigration Law Center. "Michigan winter is not exactly where you'd want to walk to work." In Arizona, the decision seemed partially political. Gov. Jan Brewer ®, an immigration hardliner, announced in August that the state would deny driver's licenses to deferred action recipients. The civil rights groups filed a complaint in Arizona in November along the same grounds as the suit in Michigan. Attorneys with the ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center said Michigan seems somewhat different -- possibly just confused, rather than trying to thwart the policy for political reasons. Johnson, the secretary of state, told her staffers in November not to grant driver's licenses to deferred action beneficiaries. Her spokeswoman, Gisgie Gendreau, told the Detroit Free Press at the time that they were not allowed, by law, to grant licenses. "Michigan law requires legal presence, that someone be here legally," Gendreau told the Free Press. "The federal government has said that DACA does not grant legal status, so we can't issue a driver's license or state ID to DACA participants." Reached for comment on the lawsuit Wednesday afternoon, Gendreau said the state will continue to rely on the government's definition of legal status for its policy on driver's licenses. She pointed to a few documents that state deferred action does not confer an individual with legal status, including the June 15 memo by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that announced the policy. "This memorandum confers no substantive right, immigration status or pathway to citizenship," that memo reads. The attorneys said they are hopeful that their lawsuit will convince state leaders that they are misunderstanding the policy. Although deferred action isn't the same as an immigrant visa, it does allow the undocumented beneficiary to stay in the United States legally, which they argue means the Michigan secretary of state is wrong. "It's contradicted by federal law," Michael Tan, an attorney at the ACLU, said. "Although states have the authority to issue driver's licenses as a general matter, they don't get to decide who is authorized to be here in the country or not, that's up to the federal government." Tan said given Michigan's general openness toward immigrants, its leaders may be more amenable to changing its policy than those in states like Arizona. "I don't think that this is like Arizona, where Gov. Brewer very openly came out and denounced the DACA program as back-door amnesty and described her order as being necessary to make sure 'illegal people' wouldn't get licenses in her state," he said. "I think Michigan is different, the governor's office has worked and made a real commitment to make Michigan a welcoming place for immigrants. This is really about a fundamental misunderstanding of federal law." This article has been updated to include a response from the Michigan secretary of state's office and to clarify that Michael Tan intended to say states have the authority to issue driver's licenses as a general, rather than federal, matter.