California OKs Deferred-Action Driver's Licenses As Executive Amnesty Fallout Continues
A California DMV spokesman said Wednesday that the state will issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens who obtain deferred action under the Obama administration’s executive amnesty. California would consider these illegal aliens “temporary legal residents” in order to avoid the state’s illegal-alien driver’s license ban.
Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Mike Marando said the job permit and Social Security card illegal aliens obtain will be enough to prove legal residency for his agency. “California law is not changing...However those applicants approved by (U.S. DHS) will become temporary legal residents," Marando said. At least 400,000 illegal aliens are expected to qualify for deferred action in California.
California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, an advocate for immigration-enforcement legislation, said in response, "I think there's going to be a huge debate right here in California over that very issue. The vast majority of Californians are adamantly opposed to giving driver's licenses to illegals."
Having licenses will allow California illegal aliens to move around freely and drive to work, something the Executive amnesty also authorizes. California's policy stands in stark contrast with the actions taken by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who issued an executive order re-affirming the state’s ban on licenses for illegal aliens.
The debate is ramping up now in other states. All but three states ban driver’s license for illegal aliens. New Mexico and Washington State give those without lawful status a driver’s license while Utah issues driving privilege cards.
Ian Grossman, a spokesman for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, said states may have different interpretations about whether deferred action matters. “The driver’s license is still a state document, so each state will have to make that determination individually,” Grossman said.
Driver’s licenses aren’t the only issue under debate. Many who qualify for deferred action will be high-school graduates who are in college or want to attend. A number of states give illegal aliens access to taxpayer subsidized, in-state tuition rates but most do not. In fact, a few states ban such taxpayer subsidies. Pro-illegal alien legislators are now pressing the case for extending this public benefit to Obama’s deferred action recipients.