Campaign Action
Another cornerstone of former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s anti-immigrant legacy crumbled this week, after the Supreme Court left a lower court ruling in place that allowed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to apply for driver’s licenses in the state. Following Barack Obama introducing the program in 2012, Brewer issued an executive order banning immigrant youth from applying for driver’s licenses. In response, immigrant youth sued and won in 2014, though Arizona continued to challenge the decision. This week, the state remained on the wrong side of history:
"There are no more courts that the Arizona government can ask to overturn this victory, ensuring that DACA recipients can get driver's licenses in Arizona," said Karina Ruiz, executive director for the Arizona Dream Act Coalition.
"Court after court has found that Arizona's discriminatory attempt to prevent DACA recipients from obtaining driver's licenses was unlawful."
Following Nebraska rescinding a similar anti-immigrant policy three years ago, Arizona had been the last state in the nation to still try to block DACA recipients—there’s approximately 25,000 in the state—from driver’s licenses. Following a federal judge’s 2014 order against Brewer, dozens of ecstatic immigrant youth lined up at the DMV as early as 4 AM for their chance to apply. "What I crave now is a good life,” Jose Puga, a 21-year-old who lined up at 6 AM, said at the time. "A driver's license will help me get a step closer”:
Some dreamers at Monday's press conference were bittersweet about the Supreme Court denial of the Arizona appeal in the driver's license case.
"I think its funny and it's sad that in 2018 we still have to celebrate that we were given the right to get a driver's license," said DACA recipient Adonias Arevalo.
"We are celebrating because this shows that this has been the power of the community. They didn't know we were going to take it up there. They thought that by blocking driver's licenses we were going to stay quiet, that we were going to be OK with it. But we didn't."
The Supreme Court also recently denied the Trump administration’s attempt to leapfrog their appeal of a lower court decision that reinstated portions of DACA. But while some DACA recipients who have already been in the program can reapply for two-year extensions of their work permits and protection from deportation, new applicants are still being barred from the program and thus remain vulnerable to arrest. Every victory, like this week’s, is an important one, but the importance of passing permanent protections once and for all remains just as urgent.