ImmigrationAppeals Court blocks Arizona’s order denying driver’s licenses to “dreamers”

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked an August 2012 executive order issued by Arizona’s Republican governor Jan Brewer which denies driver’s licenses and other public benefits to young immigrants who are allowed to remain in the United States under a 2012 Obama administration policy. The June 2012 executive order implemented aspects of the Dream Act, which had stalled in Congress, and the young immigrants it referred to are known as “dreamers.”

On Monday, Brewer called the ruling misguided and pointed out that the judges who ruled against her were appointed by Democratic presidents. The court’s decision is among other high-profile immigration cases which pitted Arizona against the federal government. A previous court decision struck down major elements of a harsh Arizona 2010 immigration law, although the decision let stand a section of the law which allowed police to check the immigration status of people stopped by the police.

“We hope that this ruling signals the end of what has been an unfortunate anti-immigrant period in Arizona,” said Karen Tumlin, one of the attorneys representing the immigrants.

According to SeattlePI, the court found no legitimate state interest in treating immigrants granted deferred action on deportation (that is, dreamers) differently from other noncitizens who could apply for driver’s licenses. Brewer’s attorneys said the decision to deny driver’s licenses was for liability concerns and the need to reduce the risk of the licenses being used improperly to access public benefits.

In June 2012 the Obama administration took administrative steps to keep immigrants younger than thirty years old who entered the country before turning sixteen, have been in the United States for at least five continuous years, are enrolled in or have graduated from a high school or GED program, or have served in the military, from deportation. In addition to being allowed driver’s licenses, applicants are allowed to pursue a two-year renewable work permit. Roughly 520,000 people have been approved to participate in the program, including 19,000 in Arizona.

Brewer is considering an appeal to the court’s decision. She blames President Barack Obama’s policy for the influx of immigrants entering the country illegally and notes that the administration’s 2012 policy is not federal law. “Lawless decrees by the president demonstrate animus to Congress, states and the Constitution,” Brewer said.

The appeals panel has ordered a lower court judge to issue a preliminary injunction blocking Brewer’s executive order while the case is litigated.

Nebraska is the only other state to have issued similar orders toward immigrants covered under the 2012 policy, and a federal judge this year dismissed a lawsuit contesting that state’s policy.