Young immigrants in Michigan follow Arizona's lead, file lawsuit

December 19, 2012

Three weeks after young immigrants in Arizona filed a class action lawsuit challenging Arizona's ban on driver's licenses for deferred action recipients, a group in Michigan has done the same. KJZZ's Jude Joffe-Block report.

The governors of Michigan and Nebraska are the only two that followed Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's lead to ban driver's licenses for young immigrants who qualify for the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Under the Obama administration initiative, young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children can qualify for work permits and avoid deportation.

The lawsuit in Michigan was filed in federal district court in Detroit on behalf of three young immigrants and a nonprofit group. It argues the state's ban on licenses for just this category of deferred action recipient preempts federal immigration law, and violates the equal protection clause of the constitution. Meanwhile, in the Arizona case, Governor Jan Brewer's first brief is due January 9.