Supreme Court denies Gov. Jan Brewer’s stay, Dreamers to get driver’s licenses
Dec 17, 2014, 11:08 AM | Updated: 4:04 pm
PHOENIX — Some illegal immigrants will be allowed to obtain driver’s licenses in Arizona after the Supreme Court rejected a stay request from Gov. Jan Brewer on Wednesday.
The decision means the 20,000 young immigrants in Arizona who have received protection under President Barack Obama’s policy can receive driver’s licenses.
However, the Arizona Department of Transportation said the issue is still in the court system and Dreamers should not head to offices to get a license.
Earlier this month, Brewer asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to hold its ruling that blocked her policy of denying driver’s licenses to young immigrants who have avoided deportation under an Obama administration policy. That hold was denied so Brewer appealed to the Supreme Court.
Governor-elect Doug Ducey said he would defer to Brewer’s decision when it comes to the license policy.
“I’ve made my position clear on this, so I’m going to defer to Governor Brewer on this,” Ducey said. “She’s the governor at this time. We’ll see what action she takes.”
The 9th Circuit had ruled in July that there was no legitimate state interest in treating young immigrants who were granted deferred action on deportation differently from other noncitizens who could apply for licenses.
The panel suggested the policy was intended to express hostility toward the young immigrants.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
