Fla. Gov. Rick Scott Vetoes Bill to Allow Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens
Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have codified existing state policy allowing illegal aliens with federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status to receive a driver's license. In his reasoning behind the veto, Gov. Scott specifically notes the Obama Administration's DACA policy, which delays removal actions for two years, was adopted without Congressional direction and never promulgated as a rule.
"Despite the federal government's inability to enforce the nation's current immigration laws or to find common ground on how to change them, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in a June 2012 memo the immediate establishment of a 'Deferred Action Process for Childhood Arrivals,'" Scott wrote. "Through this process DHS provides that a young person illegally brought to the United States as a child will not be subject to removal if the individual meets certain criteria.
"Qualifying for deferred action status does not confer substantive rights or lawful status upon an individual; it does not create a pathway to a green card or citizenship; nor does it extend to any family members of the person granted the status either. Deferred action status is simply a policy of the Obama Administration, absent Congressional direction, designed to dictate removal action decisions using DHS agency discretion. It was never passed by Congress, nor is it a promulgated rule."
If Gov. Scott had signed the bill into law, it would have created confusion if the Obama Administration’s DACA policy is overturned in the courts. A final decision is pending in a Texas federal district court case challenging the constitutionality of the DACA policy. District Court Judge Reed O'Conner has already ruled that DHS does not have discretion to refuse to initiate removal proceedings.
Gov. Scott's veto message also emphasized the benefits of legal immigrants to the state of Florida, but criticized the federal government for failing to enforce immigration laws, resulting in 11 million illegal aliens living in the country.
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