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The Iowa Department of Transportation announced it will not issue driver’s licenses or state identification cards to undocumented immigrants granted deferred action for childhood arrival status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The decision affects almost 5,000 young Iowa illegal immigrants; most of them are of Mexican heritage.
DOT officials said that Iowa law says that a driver’s license or non operator ID card shall only be issued to a foreign national authorized to be present in the United States. Therefore, the Iowa DOT does not have the legal authority under current Iowa law to issue a driver’s license or non operator ID card to a person granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, officials said.
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President Barack Obama announced in June plans for a two-year work permit program for young immigrants, many of whom were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents as children. About 1.7 million immigrants nationwide under 30 including nearly 5,000 in Iowa – most of them Mexican – are expected to meet the policy’s age, education and criminal history conditions.
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