Concerned community members and leaders were present for a public meeting held at the Hispanic American Council at 930 Lake St. This past June, President Obama signed a policy calling for deferred action for certain undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children and have pursued higher education or military service here. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) handles applications from individuals 31 and younger that meet certain guidelines. This action taken by President Obama and his administration gave hope to young people that were brought to the United States as children temporarily eliminating the possibility of deportation for many youths.
However, many immigrants who qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA ) will not get a Michigan driver’s license of State ID. The Michigan Secretary of State Office (SOS) earlier this month Michigan will not issue driver’s licenses to beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA). While SOS previously indicated driver’s licenses would be issued for four-year durations, now states that DACA beneficiaries are not “legally present” in the United States for purposes of Michigan driver’s license requirements because DACA does not grant lawful status.
If you would like to support DACA applicants, you can voice your concern with Governor Snyder or Constituent Services.
If you were not able to attend the public meeting raw video footage will be available for viewing on Youtube.com