The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to review Arizona’s request to renew driver’s licenses for “Dream Students”

The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to review Arizona’s request to renew driver’s licenses for “Dream Students” China News Service 3…

Former President Obama proposed the DACA program in 2012 to protect “Dream Students” from deportation and to obtain work permits. President Trump requested to abolish it in September last year.

After a lower federal court ruled against Arizona's refusal to issue driver's licenses to "Dreamers", the Republican-controlled state of Arizona appealed, but the Supreme Court refused to hear it.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued Arizona on behalf of immigrants, stated that Arizona’s two governors have tried to deny “Dreamers” driver’s licenses for many years, and now they have repeatedly encountered obstacles in the federal judicial system at all levels. The Supreme Court refused to hear a request to end DACA on February 26, forcing the Trump administration to continue maintaining the program.

After the Obama administration proposed the DACA program, then-Arizona Governor Republican Jane Brewer ordered a ban on its implementation in Arizona to prevent "Dreamers" from applying for Arizona driver's licenses. Arizona stipulates that non-U.S. citizens must prove their legal status in the United States, such as a valid federal work permit, before they can apply for an Arizona driver's license. However, Arizona does not accept work permits from "Dreamers."

Arizona is the only state in the country that refuses to issue driver's licenses to "Dreamers", and the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of the "Dreamers" whose applications were rejected. The Ninth Circuit Court of Justice in San Francisco ruled last year against Arizona's policy, holding that Arizona had no authority to define immigration and that the power to make immigration policy rested with the federal government.

Arizona appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Ninth Circuit's ruling ignored Arizona's sovereignty. Arizona said in the complaint that the DACA policy was established in the form of a memorandum by the Department of Homeland Security without going through a formal decision-making process by federal departments and without legislation in Congress, so it cannot replace state driver's license laws.