Tag: immigration

DOT will make drivers licenses for immigrants look second class

February 18, 2013 at 12:42 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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DACA drivers' licensesYou just knew there had to be a catch when new North Carolina Transportation Secretary Anthony Tata was dragged kicking and screaming to do the right (and undeniably lawful) thing  for immigrants granted the right to stay in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program last Friday. It would have just been too easy and humane to actually just give folks their licenses and let it go at that. Somehow, something had to be done to appease the anti-immigrant crowd both within and without state government.

So, here’s the stupid and unnecessary idea Tata’s people have cooked up: funny looking licenses. We are not making this up. In a move that would clearly make Arizona’s crazy immigrant-hating Sheriff Joe “pink-underwear-for-inmates” Arpaio smile, DOT will issue issue drivers’ licenses to the immigrants that will look very different from an average adult’s.  Read More…

Tata announces DMV will issue driver’s licenses to DACA-eligible immigrants

February 14, 2013 at 5:56 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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After long, careful review of the clarification from the Attorney General’s Office that immigrants with DACA status are “lawfully present” and eligible for driver’s licenses, Tata finally says yep.

Young immigrant to deliver driver’s license petitions to Guv today

February 12, 2013 at 11:01 amCategory:Uncategorized

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From the good folks at the ACLU of North Carolina:

RALEIGH –A young immigrant who meets all requirements for a North Carolina driver’s license but has been denied a learner’s permit while officials reconsider the state’s policy will deliver a petition with more than 22,000 signatures to the office of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory today that urges the governor to support issuing licenses to qualified immigrants who want to drive safely and legally in the state.

More than three weeks after the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office said that young immigrants who qualify under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are “lawfully present” and should be granted driver’s licenses, North Carolina officials have still not announced a decision about the state’s policy. Read More…

Deferred action on Deferred Action kids spurs protest

January 22, 2013 at 10:55 amCategory:Uncategorized

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DACA DOT protestersAbout 50 young people gathered on a frigid morning outside the offices of the state Department of Transportation in downtown Raleigh today to protest the Department’s obstruction and foot-dragging in the issuance of driver’s licenses to young people who have obtained the right to be lawfully present in the United States under the federal government’s Deferred Action program (DACA).

With chants of “out on the streets and into our cars,” the young people demanded immediate action by the Department to heed a recent opinion from the state’s Attorney General that the issuance of licenses to such applicants is both legal and required. Read More…

More evidence that immigration reform can’t wait

December 12, 2012 at 2:01 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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If Sarah Ovaska’s story about the absurdity of Time Warner Cable going all Barney Fife on an undocumented woman in Burlington isn’t enough to convince you of the need for real immigration reform in 2013, then check out this new report from the good folks at the Immigration Policy Center.

It’s entitled “Falling through the cracks” and it documents the impact of our nation’s broken immigration system and enhanced deportation policies on millions of innocent kids who find themselves separated (or at risk of becoming separated) from their parents. To quote the report: Read More…