Politico
By Tal Kopan
May 17, 2013
Arizona’s policy of denying driver’s licenses to potential DREAM Act candidates will be allowed to continue, a federal court ordered Thursday, but a constitutional challenge to the law will also proceed.
The court issued a mixed ruling that gave both sides something to cheer: It declined to issue an immediate injunction preventing the policy and dismissed part of the challenge, but it did find that the policy likely violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
The issue arose out of a Department of Homeland Security program announced in June 2012 that allowed those eligible for the proposed DREAM Act, young adults who illegally entered the country as children that meet certain criteria, to avoid prosecution and deportation for two years and, during that time, obtain federal employment authorization documents.
Arizona law requires applicants for driver's licenses prove they are in the country legally, and after the DHS program was announced, the DMV stopped accepting employment authorization documents of such “DREAMers” as enough proof. Gov. Jan Brewer also issued an executive order that the deferred action recipients not receive “any taxpayer-funded public benefits and state identification, including a driver’s license.”
The Arizona Dream Act Coalition brought the suit with five “DREAMers”, asking for an immediate injunction to prevent Arizona from enforcing its policy on the grounds of the Supremacy and Equal Protection Clauses of the Constitution, while the state asked the case be dismissed altogether.
In order to issue the injunction, U.S. District Judge David Campbell wrote in his order (posted here), the court would have to find the policy causes “irreparable harm” to the defendants. Even though Campbell found the policy likely violates the Equal Protection Clause, he said, the harms caused by the policy are not enough to immediately stop it.
Campbell also was unconvinced by the argument that the policy violates federal supremacy on immigration and dismissed that part of the challenge.
The mixed ruling gave each side something to praise and criticize.
“I applaud the federal court for its ruling today denying an injunction sought against the State of Arizona and the Division of Motor Vehicles and dismissing the claim that federal law somehow preempted the state’s ability to decide who is issued a driver’s license,” said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in a statement. “I am confident that a fully-developed record will further vindicate the State of Arizona.”
Immigration advocates praised the court for allowing the Equal Protection challenge to proceed, but decried the decision to leave the policy in place.
“This is an important ruling for Arizona’s DREAMers, and everyone who seeks justice, but we respectfully disagree with the court’s decision not to immediately block this harmful policy," said Jenny Chang Newell with the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project in a statement. "We intend to vigorously pursue justice for our plaintiffs so that this policy is blocked as soon as possible."
On its Facebook page, the Arizona Dream Act Coalition said it was consulting with its lawyers on next steps.
The court ordered a hearing be set to schedule the remainder of the case.
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