Back to News & Commentary

VICTORY! Ohio Lets DREAMers Drive

Michael Tan,
Deputy Director,
勛圖眻畦 Immigrants Rights Project
Share This Page
April 1, 2013

Last week, Ohio officials that young immigrants who came to the United States as childrenor DREAMerswill be eligible for drivers licenses. The decision impacts an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 young people who stand to benefit from the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Ohio joins the that have gotten with the DACA program. Generally, states limit drivers licenses to immigrants who can show they are authorized" or legally present in the United States. Consistent with from the federal government, the overwhelming majority of states like Ohio have rightly acknowledged that immigrants granted DACA are legally authorized to be in the country, and thus eligible to drive.

Yet two outliers remain. Unlike the rest of the country, which has come to recognize that Americans should be welcoming, and not marginalizing, our talented immigrant youth, two statesArizona and Nebraskahave rejected the DACA program and banned DREAMers from the roads. These backwards and mean-spirited policies hurt all state residents, who all have an interest in making sure that all young drivers have passed their driving tests and are able to work, go to school, and become productive members of society. As the polls show, Americans want solutions to our broken immigration systemnot discriminatory and backwards-looking policies that hurt immigrants without benefitting our communities.

No state should want to be the last one standing on this issue. As the country moves forward, we all need to get with the DACA program and stand with DREAMers are they usher in a future where all persons, be they citizen or immigrant, are treated equally.

Learn more about immigrants' rights and other civil liberty issues: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .

Learn More 勛圖眻畦 the Issues on This Page